Taste of Innocence
by Nolebucgrl
Summary: Edward Cullen longs to taste the blood of an innocent. He meets Bella Swan. Will desire for her override desire for her blood, or will he take both? Rated M.
1. Chapter 1

**Darkward Vampfic Contest Entry  
**

**Title: Taste of Innocence  
**

**Penname: Nolebucgrl**

**Beta: rameau & tripp3525  
**

**Disclaimer: _Twilight and it's characters are not mine, I'm just toying with them._**

http://www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/community/Darkward_Vampfic_Contest/72958/

Taste of Innocence

I walked along the darkened city streets, slick with rain. Mindless thought after mindless thought pierced my head as I strolled past restaurants and clubs and further into the recesses of the city. New York at night; the city that never sleeps. What better place for a sleepless vampire? There was always something happening; people seeing the sights, people falling in love, people living, people dying. Dying…yes, someone would be dying tonight.

I was hungry and it had been far too long since I'd last fed; the unsatisfactory blood of a balding, overweight nothing of a man. Nobody would miss him; he was an everyday drone without a family, few friends; just another faceless, nameless human. Well to be fair, I knew his name but it was as irrelevant to me as the passage of time.

Tonight would be different, though. Tonight I was determined to feast on the blood of someone innocent. I was tired of feeding on the dregs of society, their blood was as disgusting and depraved as they were. I smiled to myself at the hypocritical nature of that thought, for what was I? I was as disgusting and depraved as they came. I was the monster that children grew up fearing and forgot about as adults, discounting the possibility that there was true evil in the world. For awhile I had tried to justify my diet by using my enhanced abilities to pick out the worst of the lot. I could pretend to be a hero, ridding the world of rapists and murderers and molesters. I was their judge, jury and executioner.

Just recently that practice had gotten old. Seeking out damaged minds wore on my own. For once I wanted to feast on beauty, on good, on the light. I belonged to the darkness but that didn't mean that I couldn't enjoy the sunshine now and then, did it? Tonight I wanted a woman, a beautiful, sweet, innocent woman whose blood would taste of her purity. I wanted soft skin, warm lips and a sweet smell, a succulent taste. I wanted to seduce this prey, to get her to come willingly to me; like the moth to the flame; to have her let me kiss her lips, to taste her.

I had done the whole clichéd vampire route over my century of living. I waited in dark alleys and landed on unsuspecting prey, feeding upon their blood before they even registered what was happening. I even went through an unfortunate period where I dressed like an old time Hollywood vampire, doing my best Bela Legosi; cape and top hat included. I shuddered remembering that; one of the worst things about being a vampire is that you don't forget anything. Every ridiculous move I've ever made is catalogued in my brain. I embarrass myself sometimes.

I wasn't going to go the clichéd route this time though. I was going to blend into society until I found that perfect girl, then I was going to play the perfect gentleman and entice her to come with me. Getting a woman would not be a problem. It's not being vain to say that I am attractive. Looks come with the package…the more beautiful you are, the easier to lure in prey. My tousled hair was a multitude of colors; a brownish red that refused to be tamed. It always looked like I had just run my fingers through it, which to be fair, I often had. It was one of the few truly human habits I seem to have retained. My body was perfect; long, lean and chiseled. I emphasized that by wearing a fitted white t-shirt that molded to my body, black jeans that showcased muscular legs and a firm backside. Black motorcycle boots and a black leather jacket completed my bad boy look for the evening.

Beyond the hair and the clothes, though, my greatest weapon was my face. The beauty of reading people's minds is that you get a glimpse of how others view you. Oh what skewed vision they have too! More times than I could count a woman would see me and think that I had the face of an angel. Fighting the urge to burst out laughing at that blasphemy was difficult to say the least. The monster that looks like an angel, how ironic! I have high cheekbones, long lashes and a jaw that could have cut glass. I starred in countless sexual fantasies of passersby every place I went, women and men alike, of all ages. It could give a guy a complex, if I didn't already have one.

Of course, none of these people saw the true me, the monster within. My eyes were not the window to my soul, I didn't have one. I kept them shielded at all times; the glowing red orbs would surely diminish my beauty to my many admirers. I wore sunglasses during the day and at night, remaining in the shadows, I needed no cover. But since I was planning on a new hunting experience tonight, I'd donned some color contacts. It amused me how many color choices there truly were…who wanted violet eyes? I'd even seen some red contacts, although presumably those were for costumes, people dressing up as vampires perhaps? Humans were so amusing. Tonight I'd decided on green, they were set off by my bronze hair and there was almost something soulful about them when I gazed upon them in a mirror. My eyes were the color a peaceful meadow; how ironic. Soulful is just how I wanted to appear this evening; the poetic, tortured boy underneath the bad boy demeanor. I smirked at that image. What girl could resist?

After studying my surroundings for a few days, I'd decided to go to O'Rourke's bar on 6th Street. Many of the NYU students went there to let off steam on the weekends; it seemed a promising hunting ground. There was a good mix of clientele there as well, not just the vapid sorority girls in their too revealing clothes, cleavage popping out of tops and asses hanging out of too short miniskirts. While I would probably be doing a service to the world ridding it of useless sluts, I wasn't interested in that this night. I wanted a quality girl, a smart, quiet girl who left a little to the imagination. In my day and age, women didn't flaunt their bodies; a guy had to work to get a glimpse of some skin. I was willing to work for that tonight.

I stepped into the establishment that was way too brightly lit to fit my idea of a bar, but I had to admit to its advantages when multiple pairs of eyes slid toward me upon my entrance. I even heard a few audible gasps and had to bite my lip to suppress a smile. It wouldn't do to appear too approachable, would it? I kept my gaze trained ahead of me, looking only toward the bar instead of taking in its occupants. Of course I saw them anyway, but I didn't want them to know that.

After a brief moment of pure mental silence, I began to be assaulted by thoughts about myself. _Holy shit, would you look at him? He is so damn hot it should be illegal. That man is coming home with me tonight. I want to take him in the bathroom and fuck him senseless. His clothes are going to be on my floor tonight. _I couldn't hide a smirk at that last thought; it had come from a man in the back playing pool. By all appearances he looked to be as heterosexual as they came, jeans and a tight t-shirt, bulging muscles, curly hair. Girls were aware of him also, or they had been before I hit the room, but it seemed he'd be going home alone tonight since it was me he wanted. Unless of course he lived with the unlucky girl I selected to be my companion for the night.

I reached the bar and ordered a bottle of beer, tossing a ten dollar bill down. Instead of sitting on the stool, I faced away from the bar, leaning against it and crossing my ankles as I took a blatant survey of the patrons. Gasps, giggles, clothes straightening…predictable reactions as the girls tried to capture my attention. I didn't see anybody who stood out to me; there were plenty of women that I'd be willing to fuck and kill but none that fit the bill for the seduction I wanted tonight.

One of the women finally got up the nerve to come talk to me. I heard her confidence in landing me in her thoughts and nearly laughed. She had a bad blond dye job; her hair was so fried from chemicals that it looked like straw. Her clothes were as trashy as they came, so tight that it appeared they might be cutting off her circulation as her breathing didn't sound quite right to me. Her breasts were nearly popping out of her black top and her skirt stopped just below her ass cheeks. Thigh high boots completed her stripper look. Her makeup vaguely brought to mind a clown, too slathered on and slightly off-center. Had she been drunk when she'd been applying it?

She tried to do a slinky walk but instead stumbled her way over to me. _Yeah, Lauren, you're a sexy bitch. Just go get this sex god and give him a night to remember. Oh honey, the things I'm going to do to you. _Images of the two of us fucking filled her mind, her sucking my cock, me pulling her hair and taking her from behind, biting her…I nearly laughed when she pictured that. If she only knew. Even if I had wanted a quick bang and kill, this girl would not have sufficed. Her blood would no doubt be tainted by her unhealthy living, tasting as stale as any wino's off the street. Still, I'd give her a little thrill and let her think I'd consider it while I waited for someone more acceptable to come by.

"Hello there, handsome." She was literally crooning at me.

"Hello." No endearments from me to her, she wasn't worthy.

"My name is Lauren, Lauren Mallory. And you are?" She thrust her hand out at me and I eyed it with distaste. I shifted my beer bottle from my right hand to my left and grasped hers for a moment. She'd think the cold was from the bottle instead of my natural body temperature.

"Carlisle." What? I wasn't giving this whore my real name. She wasn't going to know me. I gave her my father's name; I didn't think he'd mind since he'd been dead for about 90 years now.

_Carlisle? That's a rich guy name if ever I've heard one! This guy is the total package. I don't just want to fuck him, I want to marry him! _As if, Lauren. I was the total package; she had that one right, but marriage? Edward Cullen didn't do marriage. "It's very nice to meet you Carlisle." She made no move to release my hand, instead grasping it between both of hers and running circles over my palm. "You have beautiful hands, you know?"

Of course I knew. I had long thin fingers, designed to play an instrument or a woman with the perfect touch. I'd reward this compliment with the one truth she'd get from me. "I'm a musician."

_Omigod, omigod, so hot! His voice is pure sex and he plays an instrument? Please say it's the guitar! _"Really? What do you play?" She couldn't hide the excitement in her voice. I, on the other hand, was bored.

"Piano." _Oh…well that was still hot but… _"And guitar, bass too." I couldn't resist playing with her, plus it was true. _I knew it! This guy is perfection, he has to be mine! _Never, Lauren. She started yammering about wanting to see me play and maybe giving her a private lesson and I let my eyes continue to roam the room. Still, nobody caught my eye, no thought singled out a person who might be worth my time. Suddenly Lauren's internal voice started shrieking. _God dammit, that bitch is here. She better not try to take my man away. I can't let him see her; if he does he'll fall for her just like the rest of them do. Shit, she's coming over._

I instinctively glanced to my right, where Lauren's focus had abruptly shifted whenever this new girl had entered the room. I focused on a statuesque blond that drew every male eye in the room, minus my potential suitor at the pool table of course. She was every man's fantasy, a living, breathing Barbie doll come to life. She had long blond hair that fell halfway down her back, either real in color or the best dye job ever done as her hair looked like pure silk; baby blue eyes that could bring a man to his knees, spectacular breasts that appeared to be real, a tiny waist, legs that went on for miles. I could see why Lauren didn't want this girl to notice me or vice versa. She screamed sex; her red halter top was designed to emphasize her magnificent breasts, her black miniskirt was longer than Lauren's but still left little to the imagination and 4 inch black stilettos took her already impressive height to above 6 feet.

I watched as the beauty scanned the room, her eyes rejecting potential suitors right and left before her gaze fell on me. I kept mine locked with hers and a slow smile spread across that sexy face as she sauntered over to me. She could teach Lauren lessons in walking sexy. I could feel Lauren tense up next to me as the gorgeous woman made her approach. _Fuck no; I will not lose another man to Rosalie Hale. That bitch is not going to take him from me. _I rolled my eyes, as if I would ever be with this lesser human, Rosalie Hale or no.

Rosalie stopped in front of me, her tongue darting out to wet her full red lips that just begged to be wrapped around a man's cock. I felt myself tighten in reaction. Rosalie Hale was not what I was looking for tonight, there was nothing innocent about her, but it wouldn't hurt to keep her around in case what I was looking for didn't come around. Even if it did, I could always meet up with her tomorrow and fuck her as she screamed my name. I'd even give her my real name; she was actually worthy of the honor.

"Hello." Like her body, her voice promised a sinful time.

"Hi there."

The woman shifted her gaze to the one next to me. In comparison to Rosalie, Lauren looked like a little girl playing dress up. A slutty little girl, but a girl just the same. "Lauren." Disdain dripped from her voice.

"Rose." Hatred from this one. Their thoughts were filled with venom for one another, Rose thinking Lauren was a raging slut and Lauren calling Rose a bitch and a whore in her mind. I wanted to laugh at their mental bashing of one another but I had to play it cool and watch what would transpire.

Rose turned her attention back to me, wondering what I could possibly see in Lauren. "What brings you here tonight?"

I shrugged and answered her honestly. "Boredom and a desire for something new."

She smiled. "You won't get something new with Lauren here, she's banged so many guys they installed a revolving door in her bedroom." I liked this Rose; she spoke it like she saw it.

"Bitch!" This time Lauren wasn't keeping her hatred to herself. "Like you're that much better, you've fucked half the guys on campus. Carlisle is mine!"

Rose raised an eyebrow at her. "Only the quality half, Lauren. I left the dregs for you." I couldn't help it; I had to laugh at the expression on Lauren's face. Her mouth open and closed resembling a dying fish gasping for air. Hurt flashed across her face as she registered my laugh. I suppose I should feel remorse for that fact but this girl didn't need my pity; she was plenty pitiful on her own. I kept my eyes trained to Rose as Lauren's flashed between the two of us. Realizing her defeat, she turned on her heel and left the two of us without a word.

Rosalie smiled triumphantly at me and offered her hand. "I guess we weren't properly introduced. I'm Rosalie Hale."

I shifted my beer again and grasped her soft, warm hand in my hard, cold one. "I'm Edward."

Her smooth brow furrowed in confusion. "I thought Lauren said your name was Carlisle."

I grinned at her conspiratorially. "I told her that was my name; I certainly wasn't giving her my real one."

She smiled. "How do I know that you're not giving me a fake name as well?"

"I think you know, Rose. How did you put it to Lauren, the dregs versus the quality half? You know which side you fall on and which side she does."

Her face lit up completely with her reaction to that comment and her beauty almost took my breath away. I'd met many beautiful women in my lifetime, human and vampire, but Rosalie put them all to shame. Even vampire women, with their venom enhanced deadly beauty, couldn't hold a candle to her. I shuddered to think what she'd be like if she ever became a vampire, she'd probably strike a man blind at first glance.

"Well, Edward, it's nice to meet you. My friend Alice is sitting over at that table in the corner, would you like to join us?" I tried to see the girl she was pointing out but she was blocked by numerous bodies. I may as well join them and wait and see if anyone more to my liking appeared, if not I was willing to shelve my plans for an innocent and take Rosalie home with me.

I followed her to the table, watching the sway of her hips as she led the way. My dick got a little harder as I took in her perfect ass but I willed it to calm, I wasn't ready to give in to lustful urges this early in the night. Something better, not hotter but better, just might come along. Rosalie led me to a table in the corner, away from much of the crowd but in perfect position to see the front door. Good, I could see if the one I was looking for, the perfect prey, came along, whoever she might be.

Finally Rosalie's friend came into view, no wonder I couldn't see her from the bar, she was absolutely tiny. Where Rose was over 6 feet tall with her stilettos on, Alice couldn't be more than 5 feet. Her short black hair was styled in artful spikes. Her height was that of a child, her body was that of a woman, with soft curves in all the right places accented by a shocking purple dress that clung to her. At first glance, a stranger pair of friends didn't come to mind. Rosalie's cool beauty contrasted with Alice's fresh, childlike appearance but there was something about the two of them that fit. They oozed class and confidence. I watched as Alice's gray eyes widened when she took me in as I walked up to her.

"Hi, Alice, I'm Edward, Rose invited me over, is that alright?"

"Um, sure, of course it is." _My but he is pretty. He's almost more beautiful than Jasper. Ahhh, Jasper. _Suddenly her mind was filled with the face of some blue eyed blond, the male counterpart to Rosalie. I wondered if he might be her brother. There was a tinge of sadness to Alice's thoughts so it seemed to me that she and this Jasper were not together right now and she was rather unhappy about it. Unbidden, I actually felt a wave of sympathy for the girl go through me as I felt her loneliness. What was wrong with me, why would I care about the love life of some college student? There was something about Alice however; it felt like in another life we could be friends, provided in that life I couldn't read her busy little mind.

I situated myself between Alice and Rose, positioning so I could keep my eye on the entrance. I asked both girls about their majors and listened with half an ear as Rose talked about business and Alice fashion. When they asked about me I told them I was pre-med. I'd learned enough over the years to fake it if anybody asked me questions about anatomy, but neither of them seemed inclined to do so anyway. As Rose talked about one of her boring classes her mind wandered and she pictured me fucking her from behind while she leaned against the professor's podium. I bit back a grin and watched as I gave her quite a ride in her imagination. There was a certain kind of wildness to the image that reminded me of Victoria.

_Ahh Victoria, my maker. She was a red-headed goddess, as cruel and sadistic as she was beautiful. She caught sight of me in a bar much different from this one, a gentleman's club where the wine was plentiful and the women were wanton. I noticed her from the moment I stepped into the club; she was the kind of woman that men did notice. Her eyes were black as night and I could actually feel them drawing me to her from across the room. She got up and walked outside without saying a word to me but somehow I knew I was supposed to follow. I trailed her to an alley and she seemed to vanish into thin air. One minute she was there and the next she was gone, or so I thought. I paced the alley but she was nowhere to be found, so dejected I started to walk back into the club, hoping she'd returned. Before I got to the entrance of the alley she stepped in front of me, back as quickly as she was gone. _

"_Hello, my love," she purred in a high pitched kitten voice. Her gorgeous body was less than a foot from mine, close enough that I would have felt her body heat, had she had any._

"_Huh…ello," I stammered back, overcome by having such a beautiful woman in my presence. I'd had my fair share of girls but never anybody that looked like her. _

"_What is your name?" _

"_Edward."_

"_Well, Edward, I'm Victoria." Her eyes glittered black in the night as they ran up and down my body, the look on her face almost predatory in nature. I backed up a step and found myself pressed against the wall, my head was urging me to run but my cock was demanding that I stay. She smiled as she saw both the fear and the desire at war on my face. "Cat got your tongue, Edward? I can think of some uses for it if you're not going to speak." _

_As I opened my mouth to respond to that, though I had no idea what I was going to say, she launched herself at me and started kissing me wildly. My head banged into the wall but I didn't care as my arms acted of their own accord and wrapped around her. She was all over me in seconds, clothes shredding, bodies thrusting. I was inside her before I fully comprehended where we were and what we were doing._

"_Fuck me, Edward." So I did, reversing our positions so she was against the wall as I thrust into her over and over. There was not one ounce of kindness in our coupling, it was raw animal sex, grunting and groping. Some dim part of my mind knew we were in public and that anybody could happen upon us but I couldn't find it in myself to care. I thrust harder at her keening demands, getting closer to my orgasm and hoping she was close as well. I told her I was coming and as I began I felt a sharp pain in my neck as her teeth closed down and ripped it open. I knew in that moment that I was dying but for some reason I kept rutting inside her. I felt her tongue trace over my wound as weakness overtook me. No longer able to stand I collapsed to the ground, bringing her with me as she remained latched on my throat._

"_Oh, Edward, we're going to make such beautiful music together." The demon woman must have been taunting me over my death. I lay there and waited to die, knowing that I had to be close. Instead of the painless sleep I expected to overcome me, though, a fire started coursing through my veins. I screamed in agony, sure that I was going to hell rather than heaven, heaven could not feel like an inferno. I vaguely felt my body being lifted and whatever part of my conscience that remained figured I was being taken to a hospital or a morgue to die. But the sweet release of death never came, the burning continued for an endlessly. The pain slowly diminished over time and I thought maybe I was healing, despite the fire still burning inside. I could feel my limbs and body again, all the burning centered in my chest as it felt like heart was going to explode out of my body. It beat so fast that it was all I could hear, the repetitive pounding of a drum. Then it beat one last time and the sound ceased. I was dead but I was alive. I couldn't comprehend how that could be so I opened my eyes and saw Victoria watching me, a look of excitement upon her glorious face._

"_Finally! I thought you were never going to turn, you're my first you know." I wanted to ask her what first I could possibly be but the fire that had consumed my body was in my throat now. She saw the pain in my face as I clawed at my throat. "Oh yes, you need to eat. Never fear, love, I can take care of what you need." She left the room and returned less than a minute later bringing with her a shaking old man. "It's not much but he's fine for a first meal." She pushed him toward me and I caught him, my arms moving before my mind could comprehend what I was doing. I could hear the old man but he wasn't speaking. He was praying to God that he look after his family and that he make his passage as safe one. I was curious as to why I could hear him while his lips weren't moving but his scent hit me then and nothing else mattered. My teeth sank into his neck and I drained him in seconds. I threw his lifeless body down on the ground. Somewhere deep inside I knew a part of me should be horrified by my actions but I couldn't bring myself to care. The fire was no longer in my throat and that was all that mattered._

_I stayed with Victoria for six months after that, learning the art of controlling my bloodlust enough to blend with humans when necessary and the best way to dispose of a body after it had been drained. I never let her know that I was hearing the thoughts of my victims and hers as well; it just seemed like something I should keep to myself. I remained grateful that I never told her, for I don't think I'd have ever gotten away from her if I had. _

_As the days passed, I grew disgusted by Victoria. She was not just a monster, she was a savage beast. She wasn't satisfied just to drain her victims; she liked to toy with them. She bruised and broke their fragile bodies, not taking their blood until they were screaming to die. I was a cruel bastard, I am the first to admit it, but I didn't take pleasure in hurting my victims. Taunting, teasing maybe, but never beating them until they were just piles of flesh and bone. After she destroyed her human, she would attack me, taking me even more passionately than she did when she turned me. She broke my bones when we were fucking…it grew old. One day when she was occupied with killing some priest (Victoria had a thing for taking out clergymen, she loved to be the demon from hell they all feared), I took my leave. She never came after me, thankfully, and I entered a solitary life of vampirism, taking care to drain my victims efficiently and with class. I was a monster, not a savage._

I was shaken out of my reverie and tried to focus back on what Rosalie was discussing. Something about an engine? That didn't seem right but I wasn't going to ask. Suddenly Alice interrupted her train of thought.

"Where in the world is Bella? Have you tried to call her?"

"I texted her a few minutes ago, she was just leaving the library, should be here soon." Ahh, another girl to join our little group, I wondered if she'd be as lovely as her two friends. Didn't gorgeous girls all flock together?

"Who is Bella?" May as well get back into the conversation.

"She's my roommate and one of our best friends," Alice replied.

"What is she doing at the library on a Friday night? Isn't there a law against that kind of thing?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "There should be! Bella's a total bookworm though. She'd rather be studying than partying any day of the week."

I raised my eyebrows at that information. "You two don't seem like the type to be friends with someone who doesn't know how to have fun."

Rose laughed. "Oh, she does, she just doesn't let loose very often. She is a shy little thing; Alice and I took her under our wings and we drag her out now and then. It takes some browbeating but nobody can say no to Alice and me when we want something." Her voice ended in a purr on that line and I smiled at her wickedly. Rosalie was really something else.

Movement at the door caught my eye as a girl with long brown curly hair entered. She didn't look like she was out for a night on the town; her well worn blue jeans had holes in the knees and she wore a t-shirt with an open flannel shirt above it. Her head was down, the mahogany curls blocking my view of her face. I don't know why she caught my eye when I was sitting with two extraordinary looking women but something about her was drawing me in. She looked up and her wide brown eyes relaxed as she looked in my direction. That's when I saw it. Those deep chocolate pools were as pure and innocent as a newborn baby. My cock, already at half mast due to the presence of Rosalie and Alice, shot up in reaction to this captivating new creature.

I held my breath as she headed in our direction; sure she was going to approach me. I would have to blow off the girls but I was confident I could catch up to them later. I had to have _this _girl.

"Bella! It's about time!" Alice bounced out of her seat and threw herself into Bella's arms, nearly taking both of them to the ground in the process. She was Bella, their bookworm friend?

A warm soft laugh came from underneath Alice. "I'm sorry, I got to reading and I lost track of time…"

Rosalie gave a most unladylike snort. "What else is new? You do that every day!"

"I'm sorry, Rose, I left as soon as I got your text!"

"Yeah, yeah. Come over here and meet our new friend, Edward." Bella disentangled herself from Alice's embrace and turned to me. I watched in fascination as her pale cheeks suddenly turned a soft pink hue as a blush stole across them. I wanted to touch that blush, run my cold fingers across her cheekbones and see if I could make her turn even redder. I waited to see what her reaction was to my presence; clearly I had some effect on her if I could make her blush at first glance.

Ingrained, long buried manners from my youth had me standing and pulling out her chair for her. "Hello, Bella, it's nice to meet you." I used my softest, least threatening voice. I couldn't afford to scare her off now. She looked taken aback by my action but took the seat I offered. She brushed past me to take the chair and her scent wafted over me. Strawberries, freesia and lavender; venom pooled in reaction to that mouthwatering scent. It took every ounce of will I possessed not to press my nose to her neck and take a deep sniff. While I was there I would press my lips to her pulse and feel her blood pump beneath me. The desire to taste her was stronger than anything I'd ever felt before.

"Hello Edward." She whispered it softly, shyly; I wasn't sure if the humans at the table even heard her. I had to physically fight the urge to sit down next to her, returning to my seat. I comforted myself with the fact that my chair was directly across from Bella's so I could stare at her if I couldn't be right next to her. Bella glanced between me and Rosalie and something flashed in her eyes, gone before I could decipher what it meant. I waited for her mind to clue me on whatever it was but nothing came to me. Surely she had to be thinking something, why couldn't I hear her? I stared at Bella as Alice and Rose chattered at both of us. I had no idea what they were saying because I was trying to hear what the lovely girl across from me was thinking and feeling. Her heart-shaped face gave nothing away, other than that faint blush that stole across her cheeks and got more prominent every time she glanced my way.

I wondered if she'd flush that way when I had her naked on a bed underneath me, my lips trailing over her chest, down her flat stomach, between her silky thighs. I wondered what her sweet voice would sound like moaning my name as I slowly thrust in and out of her. I would not fuck this girl; I would savor every moment with her. I pictured her writhing below me as my cock slid inside her wet, hot pussy. I imagined increasing the force of my thrust and watching those big brown eyes cloud with desire. Would she sigh my name as she came or would she scream it? I had to know. What would her lips taste like? Her skin? Her pussy? Her blood?

I gripped the table and tried to control my line of thinking, I was ready to lunge across it and throw her down and take her right in the middle of the crowded bar. My cock felt like it was trying to force my pants open on its own. If she looked at me one more time through those lowered lashes I was not going to be able to control my actions.

Since I couldn't hear what she was thinking I tried to draw her out verbally. "So, Bella, your friends tell me you're quite the student. What are you studying?"

She looked embarrassed and her flush grew darker. "Literature." Great, a one-word answer, nothing to work with.

"Oh. So do you often study on Friday nights?" She cast her eyes back down to the table and mumbled something about having a big paper due. It was clear I'd said something wrong, she didn't look back at me and turned toward Alice, effectively shutting me out and leaving me to converse with Rose.

Alice leaned close to Bella and whispered in her ear, unaware that I could hear her as clearly as if she was shouting at me. "He didn't mean anything by it, Bella." What?

Bella shook her head and spoke even more softly than Alice. "He just basically called me a loser who has nothing else to do than study on the weekend." I did what? I didn't mean it like that. Dammit, what was wrong with this girl? Her head clearly didn't work the same way other peoples did. She wasn't a loser, she was an enigma wrapped up in a tight little package. I wanted to spend hours unraveling her secrets, exploring her thoughts and her body and she thought I thought she was a loser.

I answered a few more mundane questions from Rose, what I did for fun, where I came from, blah blah. The lies fell from my lips without a second thought as I tried in vain to figure out the girl across from me. She clearly did not have the self-confidence that Rosalie and Alice possessed in spades. Where before their friendship puzzled me, it at least made some sense when you got to know them a little. Bella didn't fit with them, I wasn't sure that she fit with anybody. She was clearly one of a kind, the only person I couldn't read, the only girl I couldn't seduce with a glance.

Bella pushed her hair away from her face and exposed her neck to me. I gasped out loud as I took in the graceful curve. My mouth yearned to be there, my tongue tracing down her jaw, under her chin, down her curve, to her collar bone, sucking that delicate skin, marking her as mine. Then I'd sink my teeth into her and drink from her jugular, the blood pouring down my throat, finally sating my thirst. I pushed back from the table rather abruptly and startled all three girls. "Sorry, I need to get another drink, does anybody need anything?" They shook their heads and turned back to continue whatever conversation they'd been having while I fantasized about tasting Bella. I stomped over to the bar, past the vitriol spewing thoughts of Lauren Mallory and her frizzy haired friend and asked for another beer. I'd nursed the last one for as long as I could. I took a few deep breaths, the air clear of Bella's intoxicating scent and resolved to go back and start over with the girl. I had to make her see just how incredible I thought she was; she had to choose me just as I'd chosen her.

I turned to walk back to the table and saw that Bella was no longer sitting there. Panic momentarily welled up within me but I convinced myself to calm down, she'd probably gone to the bathroom or something. I sat back with an easy smile and pretended like my existence didn't depend on the answer when I asked "Where did Bella go?"

Alice smiled sadly and sighed. "She decided to head home, she said she wasn't feeling very well." I barely resisted crushing the beer bottle in my hand as I rose slowly from the table. It wouldn't do to go racing out, making the girls suspicious. Bella wouldn't be returning home to them and I didn't need that to be tied to me.

"Oh, that's too bad; do you guys live far away?" That was alright to ask, wasn't it? Being concerned for a girl's welfare in the big bad city alone was the normal, gentlemanly thing to do.

"About a mile east of here, she walks it all the time, I don't really like it but she says it clears her head. She often mentally writes whole papers on one of her walks." Rose smiled fondly as she considered her friend. I was getting desperate to get out of there and find Bella. Inspiration struck and I jerked my arm, tipping my beer into my lap.

"Dammit!" I feigned outrage at my clumsiness and grabbed some napkins, pretending to scrub furiously at the mess I'd made. "I've got to get out of here and get changed, can't go around smelling like beer all night." Rose and Alice looked a little stunned at the abrupt end to our evening but they couldn't argue with my reasoning. Alice was deeply grateful that I hadn't spilled one her couture dress and Rose didn't seem too put out. She pouted a little and asked if she'd be seeing me soon. I gave her my patented panty-dropping grin and told her to give me her number. She wrote it on a cocktail napkin and I slid it into my jacket pocket with a wink. "I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" I actually wanted to talk to her tomorrow, to find out if they'd noticed that Bella was missing and what they were thinking about her disappearance.

I sauntered at normal speed out of the bar and then turned east and began running. I faintly smelled Bella's scent on the air; I could taste it faintly on my tongue. I ran toward her and the scent became stronger the closer I got. I finally saw her up ahead and slowed my run down to a more respectable human pace. I ran up to her and pretended to be out of breath. I reached out to touch her shoulder and she shrieked, turning toward me quickly and swinging her backpack in my direction.

"Bella! Oof!" I let out a grunt as the backpack plowed into my midsection. She pulled the bag back and blinked at me.

"Edward? What are you doing here? Why are you following me?" Her voice was laced with suspicion. I put on my most concerned face.

"I wanted to make sure you got home safely, Bella. What kind of man would I be if I let one of you girls walk home alone and you were hurt? I could never live with myself." I had to keep the smile off of my face, I would be the one hurting this girl but I'd make sure he a good time until the end.

"Shouldn't you be with Rose? I kind of thought the two of you would be going home together." Was there a little hurt in her tone? I decided that was probably wishful thinking on my part.

"Oh, Rose is a cool girl and all but she's not really my type."

Bella snorted at that. "Rose is everybody's type."

"Why, Bella, are you calling your best friend a slut?" I knew what she meant but I wanted to see the little girl get mad.

Her eyes narrowed and she reached out and pushed me. I let my body fall back a little like a human would; she couldn't budge me if I didn't let her. "How dare you talk about my friend like that? Rose is a great person; she's not a slut at all! I mean that every guy likes Rose, she's gorgeous." Bella was the gorgeous one, glowing in her anger, her luminescent skin glowing in the moonlight.

"I know what you meant, Bella, and I was just kidding. Yes, Rose is beautiful and a very cool girl. I'm glad I met her, I'm just not interested in her."

"Why not, are you gay?" What happened to the shy girl from the bar? I guess all I need to do to draw her out was get her riled up.

"No, I'm not gay. I just go for a different type of girl."

"What type is that?"

I smiled, more than happy to answer that question. "I like quiet, smart girls with long brown hair and beautiful brown eyes." I waited to see what kind of response I was going to get from her but she turned her back on me and resumed walking.

"Um, Bella? Where are you going?"

"I thought I made that quite clear, I'm going home." She didn't even look at me, just tossed the words over her shoulder as she strode away from me again. Dammit, that was the last time she'd do that.

"Fuck, Bella, I just came out and told you I like you and you're going to walk away from me?"

She whirled around and stomped back to me, hands on her hips, that gorgeous pink color filling her face again. "Don't make fun of me, Edward!"

What the hell? "How am I making fun of you?"

"Guys like you do not like girls like me?"

"Exactly what do you mean by guys like me?"

She actually stamped her little foot, it was pretty damn amusing. "Beautiful guys, Edward. Pretty, drop dead gorgeous men. I am plain and boring. You are extraordinary. Our kinds don't mix. Stop whatever game you're playing and leave me the hell alone!" She was shouting now and I was getting a little nervous that someone was going to see us. Another part of me entirely was rejoicing at the fact that she thought I was gorgeous. Something about this girl was bringing out the human in me; I both did and didn't like it.

I ran my hand through my hair and tried to think of what to say that would diffuse her anger. We probably weren't that far from her place but we also weren't too far from mine. "Bella, first of all, you are not plain or boring. You are extremely beautiful." She snorted and I held up my hand. "Please, don't interrupt. It's obvious that you don't see yourself very clearly. Do you know what I was wishing for before you showed up at the bar tonight?"

"A threesome with Alice and Rose?" Holy crap, Bella was sarcastic. Now I could see how she fit in with her friends.

"No, snarky one." She actually let out a little giggle at that and I was encouraged to go on. "I was wishing that for once I could meet a girl that had more on her mind than getting laid. I've spent far too much time around people that…well, that are not good people, Bella. And all I wanted to do was find someone good and kind and sweet to spend some time with, to get to know." I didn't need to mention in what carnal ways I wanted to get to know said person.

"Since when do guys that look like you want to meet a nice girl?"

"Since when do nice girls like you stereotype guys like me into one big group of likeminded lemmings?" Bella's mouth opened and closed as she pondered my question. I had her and I knew it. "No smart comeback to that one?"

She scowled at me and shrugged. "Alright, you have a point. Still, what makes you so sure I'm a nice girl?"

"I don't know that, for sure, but I'd like to find out." I knew, it shone in her eyes but I couldn't really explain that without sounding like a douche, which I most certainly was not. She eyed me warily but nodded her head, so I took a chance. "Maybe, instead of going home, we could go out and get a cup of coffee and talk for a bit?"

She stared into my eyes for an interminable amount of time before agreeing. Now I had to see if I could lure her to my place. I realized I was being ridiculous, I could have grabbed her and had her at my place at anytime but I wanted her to want to be with me. I was turning into such a pussy human around this girl. I'd rectify that when her sweet blood was coursing down my throat though, nothing human about that act of depravity.

"Do you mind if we stop by my house first?" The wariness reappeared in her eyes, she'd lived in the city long enough to know that she shouldn't follow random guys to their house. I put on my most innocent expression and gestured down to my sodden clothes. "I spilled beer on myself at the bar and was heading home to change when I saw you. If you're uncomfortable, I understand, I could just meet you somewhere?" Very good, Edward, offer her an alternative so she feels more comfortable. Of course, if she takes that I'll have to think of something else but I have faith in my skills of persuasion.

Bella's eyes ran down my body and the streetlights illuminated the fact that my pants were indeed wet and clinging to my legs. She took a deep breath and returned her eyes to mine. "Alright, we'll go to your place so you can change first." I bit back the smile of triumph that wanted to creep across my face and averted my eyes because I was afraid she was astute enough to pick up what would most likely be a predatory gleam in my eyes.

I led the way to my place, another block over and one block down. My brownstone had been an investment I'd made about a decade ago. The price was right and I needed a base, somewhere I could accumulate my instruments and CDs and clothes. I had had the foresight to set up a bedroom in case I ever decided to bring a human girl home. Even though I'd had the place for ten years I'd never done that before, Bella would be my first in so many ways. I guided Bella inside, placing my hand against the small of her back as I considered where to put her. I couldn't let her go in the kitchen, if she looked in the refrigerator or cabinets she might be a bit suspicious as to why there was not a morsel of food to be found. I showed her into the living room, I'd furnished it for comfort; a big plus green sofa faced a 50" LCD TV. "You can turn on the TV if you want. I'll be right back down." I raced up the stairs and shed my jeans in record time, replacing them with an identical, albeit dry, pair. I made myself wait a few minutes before heading back down the stairs and used the time trying to figure out ways to convince Bella to stay at my place.

I went into the quiet living room; she hadn't bothered with the TV and instead was standing over near my stereo taking in my CD collection. She turned upon my entrance and said, "Edward, this is amazing, I've never seen so many CDs." Ahh, this might be easier than I thought!

"I love music; it's kind of a passion of mine."

"Do you play any instruments?" Yes, I had her!

"Come on, I'll show you." I held my hand out to her and she hesitated only a moment before crossing the room and putting her tiny hand in mine. She gasped at the sensation of cold but didn't try to pull her hand away. Immensely cheered by her reaction, I led the way down the hall into my music room. There was my baby grand piano and several stands for my guitars and my bass. Bella gasped and pulled her hand from mine to run it over the gleaming piano.

"Edward, this is beautiful. Will you…" her voice trailed off as if she wasn't sure if she wanted to ask me.

"Will I play for you?" She nodded, her nerves getting the better of her again. "Of course. Anything in particular you'd like to hear?"

"Just play me your favorite." I smiled and flexed my fingers in anticipation.

"If I do that, you need to sit next to me on the bench and tell me all about you." Instead of bonding over coffee we'd bond over Debussy. Bella slid on the bench next to me and I closed my eyes and savored her scent surrounding me. I began playing and nodded at her to start telling me her life story.

"I'm from a tiny town in Washington called Forks…" I listened as Bella told me about her parent's divorce and getting dragged across the country with her flighty mother. I found myself feeling a little put out at her mother's self-centeredness; it was clear that Bella had little time to make friends and live a little before she was dragged somewhere else. She went to live with father during her junior year of high school because her mother got remarried and actually made Bella feel like she had to go so she could take off and be with her new husband all the time. I began pounding on the keys a bit harder as irritation at the selfish woman washed over me, I could hear the sadness in Bella's voice as she recounted the story. How could her mother not have noticed?

Some of my irritation faded as Bella's voice lightened telling me about her father. I listened as she told me about his love for fishing and sports and then she mentioned that he was the chief of police in her little town. Police? It seemed I would get my fondest wish. No way was a police chief going to let his daughter's disappearance go unnoticed, even if he was from some Podunk town. No, Charlie Swan would come to New York and raise a stink looking for his daughter. Finally, someone I took would matter. Glancing at Bella's guileless brown eyes I realized that she already did matter to me, which was something new entirely. I hadn't counted on actually liking the innocent I wanted to take.

I launched into some Beethoven and then Mozart to keep Bella talking, telling me about her classes and fun times she'd had with Rose and Alice. I smiled, knowing I'd always remember Bella laughing as she told me stories about Rose's ballbusting and Alice's hapless crush on Rose's twin brother. So Jasper was her brother, I'd been right. Bella's voice eventually trailed off and I glanced over. She was watching my fingers move effortlessly over the keys as if entranced.

"Bella?" She didn't seem to hear me. I guess that made us even, since I couldn't hear her. Her silence continued to puzzle me but I found it was quite pleasant to be alone in my thoughts. I nudged her and she started. "Something on your mind?" She licked her sweet lips and I bit back a groan. She shook her head but I noticed that blush reappear for the first time since we'd sat down the piano. I stopped playing and turned to face her, tilting her chin up with my pointer finger. "Bella, may I kiss you?" It was time. It would all be her choice from here on out, up until the end.

Her trusting eyes looked into my piercing green ones and she gave me a whispered, "Yes." I felt a shudder go through me at her words; I wanted this beyond anything I'd ever desired before. I could hear heart pounding as I leaned forward and gently pressed my lip to hers, bringing my hand down from her jaw to cup behind her head as I pulled her closer to me. I opened my mouth and ran my tongue along hers, groaning at the taste that assaulted my senses. She tasted like strawberries and chocolate. I indulged myself in a fantasy of dipping a strawberry in warm chocolate and running it over her body, following the juicy chocolate trail with my tongue, lapping up the sweetness of the fruit combined with the sweetness that was Bella. I pressed my tongue more firmly against her in response to that image and her mouth opened to me, allowing me to slip inside. Her tongue met mine tentatively and reminded me to savor, not devour.

I let Bella take the lead, her little tongue pressing against mine as I ran my hands through her silky long hair. She moaned against my lips and I tightened my grip on her, pulling her around to straddle me on the piano bench, her thighs pressing against mine. I could feel her heat through my jeans and I pulled her waist closer so she could feel my erection against her. _Patience _my inner voice warned. I wanted to silence him but he was right, if I pushed too far too fast I'd lose her. I tore my lips away from hers, dragging them along her jaw and down to that curve of her neck that had been driving me insane with desire all night long. I wanted to kiss her, caress her, bite and drain her. Need raged in me as I fought to remain gentle. Her hands came up to tangle in my unruly hair while I peppered little kisses along her neck and shoulder, pulling her flannel shirt with me as I went. The body hidden beneath the bulky shirt was everything I thought it'd be, tight and tiny. Her breasts would be the perfect handful when I got around to touching them. I smiled against her collar bone as I licked and sucked that delectable spot as she shivered and moaned against me. I could both hear and feel her heartbeat, it was an intoxicating combination.

Reluctantly I pulled my lips from her skin and sat back to face her, my hands still on her hips, hers still in my hair. "Bella, I think we should stop and go get that coffee now." I nearly laughed out loud at the transparency, me pretending to be gentlemanly and cockblocking myself. The lust died out of her face and was replaced by sadness. I instantly regretted my ploy; it seemed I could have gotten what I wanted without resorting to manipulation.

"Don't you want me?" She wouldn't even look at me as she asked the question, letting her head fall against my shoulder and speaking the words into my neck.

I laughed gently and pulled her back to face me. "Of course I want you, silly girl. I just didn't want you to think that I was pushing you to give me more than you're ready for." That attractive blush stole back over her cheeks.

"You know that I'm a virgin." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. I just nodded and waited to see where she was going. "And that makes you not want to be with me? Because I might not be good?"

"No, Bella! No! I want very much to make love to you. I just want to be sure it's what you want." Straight from the Virtuous Boyfriend's Handbook. She'll be requesting me to take her in five, four, three, two…

"Edward, I want you to make love with me. " I stared into her eyes, making sure that she was being honest with me and with herself. Nerves fluttered there but I didn't see any doubt.

"Then I will make love to you, Bella. You'll be my first."

She huffed. "Please, Edward, you don't have to pretend for me, I know you're not a virgin."

I caressed her cheek and gave her an absolute truth, something I rarely did. "No, I'm not a virgin but I have never made love to a woman before. I've fucked plenty of girls in my time but none of them mattered. You do. It goes against my instincts and frankly I'm a little nervous but I want very much to make love to you." Her lips met mine in a chaste kiss, ironic considering the subject matter. Without breaking the kiss I swept her into my arms and carried her up the stairs into my bedroom. Bella would be the first woman I took here; the only woman I would ever take here. She and she alone deserved that honor. I lay her gently on the bed and sat down next to her, never breaking our kiss.

I pulled away and looked at her, so beautiful all flushed and tousled. "Are you sure?" The ironic thing is that I was the one who was unsure. Now that I had her where I wanted her, I wasn't sure that I wanted to take her anymore. Oh, I wanted to make love to her but did I want to end her? Did I want to rob the world of this beauty before me? I pushed those ridiculous thoughts to the back of my head and reached forward, running my hands down her mostly bare arms and watching goose bumps appear along the trail my fingers took. I put my hands on the hem of t-shirt and kept my eyes on hers as I raised it above her head, revealing a plain white cotton bra and a lot of soft smooth skin. She was so beautiful; her plain bra was more erotic to me than the fancy lingerie that Victoria used to have me rip off her.

I traced along the edges, running my hands over the straps as Bella shivered beneath my touch. Was it my temperature or was she excited? I suspected it was a combination of both. I reached behind her and unclasped that simple piece of cotton. I let out a big breath as her breasts were revealed to me. They were as fantastic as I imagined them to be. I immediately grasped each one in my palms, feeling the heat of her pressed against me. Perfect handfuls, just like I knew they'd be. I lay her down on the bed and took her breast in my mouth, suckling gently on her pink nipple. "You're so beautiful." I breathed against her, my cold breath hardening her nipple even further. Her hands buried themselves in my hair again, pulling me more firmly against her breast. I suckled one and then the other, squeezing the one that wasn't getting my oral attention with a free hand while the other traced circles down her stomach, dipping lower and lower until I reached the button on her jeans.

Bella didn't recoil as I popped the button and lowered her zipper, the sound echoing in the room. I continued to lave her breast as I lowered her jeans. Bella was clad in only skimpy white cotton bikini underwear while I remained fully dressed. I decided to rectify that and removed my shirt; I wanted to feel my bare chest pressed up against hers. I lowered myself on her, pressing my hard form to her soft one; cold to warm, man to woman. My cock pressed against her thinly covered pussy, straining against my jeans, aching to be inside of her. My lips returned to hers, slow drugging kisses that left both of us gasping.

"Edward, make love to me, now." So eager, my innocent little Bella. I reached down and slowly slid her panties down her long lean legs. She was so pale, even for winter in New York. It was as if her skin never saw the sun. If I didn't know better, I'd wonder if she was a vampire. I sat up and let my eyes roam every inch of her body, burning it forever into my memory. I would keep her with me for eternity; Bella would always be my best memory.

I traced my fingers back along her waist, slowly edging toward that moist heat that was calling to me, drawing me in. I wanted to touch her and taste her for hours, days if time would let me. Time was not irrelevant here though; I only had her for tonight. People would be looking for her tomorrow. I bent over and kissed her hip bone, watching for her reaction. She didn't protest as I traced my tongue down her hip, to her thigh, licking up into her heat. Bella moaned and spread her legs open wider. I smiled against her pussy and proceeded to lick her more roughly, flicking her clit with my tongue. Bella reared up against me, her hands clutching my face, her thighs pushing against my cheeks. "Baby, not quite so tight," I mumbled against her. My words must have been somewhat coherent because she unclenched her thighs. I grinned up at her. "Do you like that, Bella? I must say, I love how you taste." I continued my ministrations with my tongue, bringing her to the brink of pleasure and then driving her over by nibbling gently on her clit. Bella came against me, shouting my name. I knew she'd be loud; it's always the shy ones.

I pulled back and removed my jeans, I never bothered with underwear; it just got in the way. I saw Bella's eyes widen as she took in my cock in all its glory. I smiled as the shock on her face melted into desire. "Are you ready for me baby?" I couldn't wait to be inside of her.

"Don't we, shouldn't you…what about a condom." Oh right, human concerns.

"I can't have children, Bella, and I've been tested so…"

Her eyes widened. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I just wanted to be safe."

"No worries, sweetheart. It's very smart to be safe. I should have told you so you wouldn't worry. Are you ready?"

Bella nodded and leaned back, thighs splayed widely. I leaned over her and kissed her, lowering my body to hers and lining my cock up at her slick entrance. I watched her doe eyes as I slowly slid into her, stopping as I watched the pain flicker over her face. "Tell me if I'm hurting you too much." She shook her head and I pushed in further, stopping when I felt her barrier. "This is the worst part, baby, it'll hurt for a minute. Are you sure?" She nodded and I pushed, breaching the barrier and sliding all the way in before I could stop myself. I was instantly assaulted by the smell of her blood; her innocence was shattered as was my control. I froze and waited for the bloodlust to pass. While I waited the pain cleared out of her face. Her scent distilled in the air and I was able to focus again.

"It's better." At her go ahead I began to slowly thrust in and out, seeing flickers of pleasure take the place of any pain I'd caused. There was beauty there, in watching a girl give herself for the first time. Bella was so pure, so perfect. Mine. I heard at word echo over and over in my head as I increased my pace inside her. I felt my cock begin to twitch as her pussy started to clench around me. The time was upon me, the moment I'd been waiting for. Her soft eyes spoke of love and lifetimes as she looked up at me with absolute trust. I pressed my lips to her elegant throat as I felt myself release inside of her. I opened my mouth and gently pressed against her skin, I knew it felt like a love bite but with my teeth it was so much more. Her skin was pierced and the sweetest blood I'd ever tasted began to flow into my mouth. I pulled back and watched as the pleasure faded out of her eyes and shock replaced it. The brown started to get cloudy and glassy as I swallowed, the pleasure in her taste diminishing as the life started to fade out of her eyes. Did I want this? Did I really want this fabulous girl to cease to exist or did I want to keep her with me for all of eternity? I made my decision and bent forward, opening wider to take care of the girl. _Mine._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Finally! Thank you all for you patience with me, it took a ridiculously long time to get Smugward back to you and I apologize for that. He wasn't speaking to me and you know how those good looking bastards can be! Too busy killing and sexing to give me the time of day. A girl could really get a complex. I swear to you it will not take me as long to get to the next chapter. I've got 7 or 8 more chapters of Sacrificial Lamb to write but I will write Chapter 3 during that time period. After SL is done, my time will be equally split between this and a new AH story that's in my head. It'll be fun, I promise!**

**Thank you to those of you that nominated me for awards in various contests, I am beyond touched and very grateful that you'd put me in the company of some truly incredible writers. I've made you wait long enough so here's your chapter.**

Taste of Innocence Chapter 2

What did I do? What the fuck did I do? I mean, seriously, what in the hell was I thinking? I paced back and forth outside the bedroom door, reaching for the knob and then snatching my hand back before I went in and saw the girl lying still and silent on the bed. What the fuck made me think that I had the right to take the life of someone who'd never harmed a single being? I may not have been able to read her mind but I knew her very soul and it just wasn't in Bella Swan to hurt someone. So how did I repay her? I took her light away.

I didn't even know if I did it right. I had never made a vampire before. I'd never even seen it done when it came down to it. The only knowledge I had was my very hazy memory of Victoria turning me. And I didn't remember anything but biting and burning. Maybe she'd be better off if I fucked up and it didn't work and I'd really killed her. Her heart was still beating faintly, for now, but who's to say that it wouldn't just go silent and she'd never wake up?

Did I want her to wake up? How would she react when she did? Would she see immortality as the gift I intended it to be or would she consider it a curse and hate me for eternity? Why the hell was I even keeping her? She'd be my fucking responsibility now; it was up to me to make sure she learned how to hunt properly, to make sure she knew how to move undetected through society so the Volturi wouldn't come after her. Edward Cullen doesn't do responsibility. I'd spent 90 years alone and here I was committing myself to training a new vampire?

Fuck, why did I even want her? What was it about Bella Swan that made it impossible for me just to kill her and walk away? I'd walked back into that bedroom countless times, every time intent upon ending her life, leaving her as nothing but a fond memory but I couldn't do it. I'd look at that sweet face and I couldn't make myself end her. I saw my mark on her neck, already healed, and I felt possessive, glad that she bore a symbol of me. She was mine. I'd never wanted anyone to be mine but I really fucking wanted her. What kind of spell had she cast upon me? Her blood had been heavenly but was it bewitched? I could have anyone I wanted, what the fuck made her so damn special?

Twelve hours had passed since I made love to Bella and made her mine. They were the longest hours of my life and I still had sixty more to go according to Victoria. Why did it have to take three fucking days to make a vampire? Could her heart really hold out long enough to push the venom throughout her body? Should I bite her again? God, this was annoying. I was annoying myself. I needed to get the hell out of the house. She wouldn't know that I was gone.

I stormed down the stairs and got all the way to the front door but I couldn't make myself walk through it. Fuck. She had to be a witch; nobody made me feel this way. I threw myself down on the couch and huffed. I couldn't even play music right now, my mind wouldn't slow down enough to concentrate, plus I couldn't hear her heartbeat over the sound. I had to know that heart was still beating. It was the most important sound in my world right now for some unfathomable reason.

I glanced at the clock. It was noon. They should be missing her by now. That was something I could actually check on. I grabbed my jacket and pulled out the phone number Rose had given me last night. I had told her I would call today, after all. It wouldn't be unexpected; Rosalie was the type of a girl that a guy did call right away. Before I could think about it any further, I dialed her number.

"Hello? Bella?" Panic was clear in her tone. I started looking around the room, somehow thinking Bella was going to walk in and answer her. Oh, I had to answer her.

"Rose? It's Edward, from last night. Remember me?" As if she could forget, nobody forgot me.

She let out a shaky breath. "Oh, yes, of course, Edward." I waited but she didn't say anything else.

"Is something wrong? Why did you say Bella when I called?" Like I didn't know.

"She's missing, Edward! She never came home last night, at least not as far as we can tell. It's just not like her." No, studious little Bella would be safely home and tucked into bed by midnight every night.

"Have you called anyone? The police?" She mattered, I had finally taken someone who people would miss and I wanted to experience it firsthand.

She barked out a harsh laugh. "We tried. She has to be missing 48 hours in order for them to do anything. They assume she just met some guy and ran off with him last night, as if Bella would do something like that!" Oh but she did, Rose. She met the wrong guy, or the right one depending on your viewpoint. It had felt very right last night, sliding my cock into that wet warmth, seeing those trusting brown eyes looking at me as if I was the only man in the entire world.

"Well I only spent a couple minutes with her but she certainly didn't seem that type to me."

"I know! They won't listen, but Bella's father did. He's already on a flight on his way here."

"Can you think of anyone who might want to harm her? Any guy that pays too much attention to her?"

"There is one guy…" What? Who was lusting after my Bella? I would crush him if he'd ever touched her.

"Who?" My voice came out a little more harshly than I intended but I didn't like the thought of anyone giving Bella a hard time.

"Jacob Black." Disgust laced her tone. "He lives on the floor below us and asks Bella out weekly. She always says no. I haven't seen him yet today. I told Charlie about him when he asked about anyone who paid her a little too much attention though. He's one of the boys that just won't take no for an answer." I'd teach him the word; he'd be screaming it over and over as I crushed his fingers one by one. "I don't think he'd harm Bella, he's one of those puppy dog types, just following her around slobbering."

What in the hell was wrong with me? I wanted to kill some insignificant human who'd actually recognized Bella for the prize that she was? I sighed at my own idiocy. "Yeah I know that type. Pathetic." She didn't give him the time of day though, did she? She didn't let him kiss her, touch her, make love to her. No, that was all me and it would only ever be me.

She laughed. "Definitely. So I doubt she's with him. I just don't know where she could be." Worry entered her tone again.

"Is there anything I can do?" I tried my best to sound like the concerned potential suitor, even though I was more than ready to get off the phone. Rose's mention of that Black douche had given me an idea.

"Oh, Edward, that's so kind of you. Just, if you go out today, keep an eye for her alright? I'd really like to get together again but right now…"

"I more than understand that, Rose, please keep me informed and when she turns up, safe and sound, we'll get together to celebrate alright?" I lowered my voice to a sexy purr.

She couldn't resist, I knew she couldn't, her reply was breathy. "I'd really like that; it's a shame we had to cut our night short." No, it truly wasn't. I'd had the best night of my very long life last night.

"Yes, definitely. We'll make up for lost time, soon. Keep me up to date on Bella. When did you say her father would be in?"

"He had a few connecting flights, he'll land around seven tonight."

"Well hopefully she'll be home and his trip will be unnecessary."

"I hope so!"

"I'll let you go, take care."

"You too, Edward, I'll talk to you soon?"

"Count on it, babe. Goodbye."

I disconnected quickly and ran back upstairs to check on Bella. Her heart was still beating a steady rhythm. I finally touched her and snatched my hand back quickly. Her skin was cooling, not nearly as warm and pliant as it had been under my hands last night. There was a slight sheen to the pale skin now; it was close to the same color of my own. My eyes detected slight changes to her body, some of the roundness had disappeared, muscles and definition beginning to take its place. She'd be a beautiful vampire; there was no doubt about it. I hesitantly placed a hand on her cheek.

"I'm going to run an errand, but I'll be back soon." She wouldn't even know I was gone but already the fucking guilt was eating away at me. I knew she had to be in terrible pain, for clearly it was working. I'd managed not to fuck up completely, much to my utter surprise. "Don't worry, baby, I'll have a present for you when you wake up." I don't know what made me do it but I pressed a kiss to her forehead before I left.

I had a few hours to find that Jacob Black kid so I headed to NYU and found Bella's dorm. I asked a scrawny kid named Paul where Jacob Black lived and he took me right to his room. He wasn't there but I broke in and looked around. I opened his closet and was assaulted with a scent that overwhelmed me. Bella? What had she been doing here? I shoved through the clothes and found a red scarf that smelled like her. That little pervert had stolen her scarf. God only knew what depraved activities he did with the thing. I was disgusted but also grateful. The kid was almost making it too easy on me.

I put the scarf under his pillow and placed a few of Bella's hairs in the bed as well. When forensics came looking, they'd find evidence that she'd been here, or at least that he had more than a little interest in her. I was familiar enough with his scent so I left the room and sought him out. He'd been kind enough to have a copy of his schedule sitting in his desk drawer so I knew he had Economy in the Harris Building now. I plopped down at a table and opened one of his books that I'd stolen, trying to look like every other student. I was immediately assaulted by several fantasies starring yours truly. One fat chick wanted me to fuck her against the tree while a mousy little thing in glasses wanted me to bend her over the picnic table. I smiled to myself; it was always the quiet ones.

I kept my eyes trained on the front of the building as people started pouring out. Ahh, there he was. He was rather large for a human, Native American, long black hair, some decent muscle. Still, he was not remotely worthy to breathe the same air as my Bella, he looked like a complete tool. I kept my up my reading ruse until he passed me, then shut the book and followed him, waiting for an opportunity to get him alone. He cut between buildings and I had my chance. I darted ahead of him and grabbed him before he got back out into the open. I brought a hand to his skull and a slight knock and he was out. I took off at full speed; no human eyes could make out my form as I darted home with the bulky human thrown over my shoulder.

I threw his still form into the basement and yanked the inside door handle off. He wouldn't be able to get out until I wanted him to. I darted back into Bella's room and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw her chest rise and fall and heard that heartbeat again. It was a little fainter now but still doing its job, pushing my venom through her veins.

I touched her cheek softly again and took her hand in mine. "I'm back, Bella. I brought you a present. I can't promise you'll enjoy it but I think you will." I chuckled. Maybe she'd be glad to kill the nuisance that harassed her for months on end. It could be completely therapeutic for her. I stayed with her until I heard the human awaken; he started pounding on the door crying for help. "Time to provide our friend some assistance, love."

I flew down the stairs and yanked the basement door open. Black fell into my arms and I shoved him, rather hard, down the stairs. His arms pinwheeled behind him as he tried in vain to catch something but there was nothing to grasp. He fell on his ass and stared at me in terror. "Who are you and what do you want from me?" Words like sex slave and rape flew through his mind and I tossed my head back and laughed.

"Relax, Jacob, I can assure you I have no plans to steal your virtue." As if I would soil myself with this insignificant little worm.

He scooted off the ground and crossed his muscular arms. "How do you know my name?"

I narrowed my eyes at him and just said her name. "Isabella Swan." His jaw dropped open and instantly my mind was assaulted with images of _my _Bella. She was walking with Alice and Rosalie, a smile gracing her lovely face, her eyes alight with laughter. She was bent over a book in the library, a studious look on her face as she took copious notes. She was changing her sweater, the lovely swell of her breasts spilling out of her pink satin bra…wait, how the fuck did he get that image in his head? I studied the vantage point and it was clear the pervert had watched from below her window. What the fuck?

Before I could think about it I had him pinned to the wall, his arm twisted painfully behind his back as he gasped and cried out. "So, you're nothing but a fucking peeping tom are you? She wouldn't give you the time of day so you spied on her while she dressed? Did you use that image when you touched your tiny little penis every night, Jacob?" I twisted his wrist and smiled in satisfaction as it snapped. He screamed loudly and I released him, shoving him back to the floor. I didn't want to touch the disgusting letch.

He gripped his wrist, tears streaming down his face. "How did you know about that?"

I leaned forward, my face showing the demon that I hid so carefully away most of the time. "I know every fucking thing you think and every fucking thing you do. So be careful what thoughts flit through that pathetic little mind of yours. There are many bones in the human body, Jacob, and I'd love to inflict damage on every one of them."

He cowered into the corner like an abused animal and I smiled at the image of subservience before me. "Tell me, Jacob, do you have a car?"

He looked confused at the shift in conversation but nodded. "What kind?"

"It's a beat up, rusted red Chevy. This can't be about stealing my car, can it? I don't have money, man; I'm here on a scholarship and…"

I rolled my eyes, was he really that much of a fucking moron? "Do I look like I need your money?" My designer leather jacket probably cost more than his truck. He shook his head and continued to grip his wrist. What a fucking baby. "Where do you park and do you have your keys on you?"

He shook his head in answer and I picked him up and slammed him against the wall. His eyes rolled back into his head at the force I'd used but he didn't pass out. I'd have to be careful; I could wind up killing the fool before Bella awakened. "Wrong answer. They're in your pocket. I can smell the metal. Are you going to hand them to me or would you prefer I take them myself?" My voice dripped with the menace I felt towards this sad little individual.

He slid his left hand into his pocket, gasping at the pain that movement caused his wrist but pulling the keys out. "Now, where do you park?"

"At my dorm, it's…"

"I know where you live."

"How? Why?"

I let him go and he sank back to the floor. "Your questions are irritating me. It's no wonder that Bella didn't deem you worth a moment of her time." How had she not slugged the guy? He wouldn't hit her back, he wasn't the type. And if he was, I would pulverize him.

"What does Bella have to do with this?"

I smiled and knew I bore the look of a predator in that moment. "Everything." _What does he want with her? I won't let him touch a hair on her head. _I laughed aloud at that, I'd had my hands everywhere on that precious girl's body. I went up the steps and looked back at him, still huddled in the corner, no thought of attempting to get to me while my back was turned. Maybe he wasn't as stupid as he appeared. "Don't bother screaming or trying to get out, nobody will hear you and if I hear you carrying on when I return, I'll break something else. Maybe your other wrist, that would really limit your ability to choke the chicken to images of _my_ Bella, wouldn't it?" He gasped at her name but didn't say anything as I slammed the door shut again. To be safe, I pushed the refrigerator in front of it but I was fairly confident he wouldn't even try to escape.

I ran back to NYU and Bella's dorm. There were no police cars and thankfully Alice and Rose weren't milling about. I found Jacob's excuse for a truck and climbed in, wrinkling my nose in disgust at the rusty vehicle. I'd need a shower after riding in it; I was accustomed to far better machines. The engine thundered to life and I frowned, nothing furtive about this vehicle. I reversed and drove gingerly out of the parking lot, hoping not to call any more attention to myself than I already had. I sighed impatiently as the truck rumbled onto the highway. I took the JFK exit and parked in long term parking, switching the plates with a car on the 4th floor. The cops would think one of two things, that he'd taken a flight out of town or that he'd stolen a vehicle. Either way, things wouldn't look good for young Jacob Black when it came to Bella's disappearance.

Speaking of stealing cars…I came upon a black Lexus and yanked the door open, the lock screeching in protest but giving way with just a light tug of my fingers. I reached under the dashboard and pulled out the wires, deftly connecting them and hearing the engine purr to life. This was more like it. I abandoned the car ten miles from my brownstone and took the rest of the walk on foot. I paused outside the door and smiled when I didn't hear a peep coming from inside.

I strolled into the living room and glanced at the basement door, the refrigerator was still in place and the human was silent. I hope he hadn't died in fear while I was gone, his cold blood would hold no appeal for Bella when she awoke. No, I could hear his heartbeat, pounding away. I frowned because it drowned out Bella's lighter sound. I ran upstairs and looked in at her.

She lay still in the center of the bed, her little face completely composed despite the fire that was raging within her veins. I felt bad that I had to cause her a moment's pain, but it would be worth it in the end. She would take her place at my side and together we'd rule the world. I placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and was rewarded with a soft sigh from her ruby lips. A glance at the clock showed that it was after eight PM; her father should be at her dorm by now. I wondered how long it would be before they went into Jacob's room and found her scarf there. I'd have to give Rosalie another call tomorrow to check on her missing friend.

I wandered back downstairs and glanced at the basement door again. I didn't really want to go back down and spend time with Bella's meal but what else was there to do? I couldn't play music right now; I just wasn't in the mood. TV was boring, girls were out…there would be no other girl for me, I was sure of it. Bella, somehow, had become the only one I wanted and I was inexplicably okay with that. I couldn't wait to watch her feed from Jacob; I'd been unable to stand watching Victoria feed, she was far too savage. My Bella was a delicate creature, though, and I imagined she'd be stunning when she let the beast free.

Dammit, meals. I would have to feed that fucker sometime within the next two days. He was a nuisance even when he wasn't thinking thoughts about _my_ girl. I got off the couch and walked down to Myron's deli, ordered a turkey sub, roast beef and some macaroni salad. That should tide him over until she woke up.

I brought the food home and shoved the refrigerator back where it belonged, placing all but the turkey sub inside. I went back downstairs and grinned when I found Jacob still sitting right where I'd left him. I was immediately assaulted by the nauseating scent of urine. I looked and saw a dark stain on his pants. "You pissed yourself? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Excuse me for getting scared when some _thing _kidnapped me, broke my wrist and locked me in a basement!" What the fuck? Was he seriously that stupid, talking back to _me_?

I picked him up by his ridiculously long hair and he screamed in pain. "It would seem to me that you'd watch your mouth when said _thing _returns and brings you a goddamn sandwich, you fuckwit." Smiling, I dropped the sub right in the spot in which he'd urinated. Maybe that would teach him a lesson about minding his mouth. "Enjoy your dinner." I let go of his hair and left him to eat or not eat, I really didn't care at this point.

I very rarely wished I had any true human traits but right about now I was longing for sleep. It would kill a good eight hours and I'd be all the closer to Bella's awakening. Sighing I flipped on the TV and settled on the 24 hour local news station. It was still probably too early but I sat up when "breaking news" flashed across the screen.

"Two NYU students are missing and one is sought in questioning for the disappearance of the other. Isabella Swan hasn't been seen since midnight last night." A picture of Bella flashed on the screen, one of those high school glamour shots that they use for their senior class. Her hair curled softly around her face and a soft smile tugged at her lips. Her eyes were alight with her innocence. It took my breath away.

"Fellow student Jacob Black hasn't been seen since two this afternoon. Due to his relationship with Ms. Swan," I scowled at that. Relationship? They didn't have a fucking relationship. He stalked her and she hated him. Period. "Police searched his room and found signs that Ms. Swan may have been in his room recently." Good, the cops weren't the morons I'd half expected them to be.

A stern looking man with a moustache walked up to the reporter outside the dorms. "My name is Charlie Swan and I'm a police chief in Forks, Washington but I'm not here as a cop, I'm here as a father. If you've seen my little girl or Jacob Black, please call the NYPD." His face gave nothing away but his eyes flashed with pain and his voice was gravelly, as if he'd been yelling or smoking for hours, maybe both. This man loved his daughter. That much was clear.

I felt a pang of guilt that I quickly willed away. I didn't believe in feeling guilty. Bella belonged with me. I had to take her. I could feel in every fiber of my being that I was right, so there was no room for regret. I'd wanted to take someone that mattered and she did. Chief Swan and Rosalie and Alice would always remember her. Nobody remembered me…well that wasn't true. The girls I'd fucked no doubt remembered me but they were insignificant and that was the type of mattering I was thinking of. Love. Bella was loved. Nobody loved me and that didn't really bother me, I could give a fuck most of the time. But for just a moment I wondered what it would be like to be loved. Maybe the girl upstairs would someday grow to love me. Did I really want that?

I wondered idly if Bella or I would tire of one another after a decade or two. I didn't much like the idea of that. I'd never wanted to keep someone around before but I didn't like picturing life without her. What kind of spell had she woven over me? The problem was I didn't want to escape it.

I watched some mindless action movies for awhile, letting myself enjoy bloodshed and explosions. I eventually checked on Jacob and found him asleep, dreaming of slaying the beast that I was and saving Bella, getting a grateful kiss from her in return. Like she'd want another man's lips when she'd had mine. I laughed sardonically and that and the fact that he'd eaten the sandwich. Maybe on my next visit he'd be a little more pleasant and I wouldn't be forced to ruin the next one.

Morning eventually came. Forty more hours. It felt like time was standing still and to an immortal with all the time in the world it fucking sucked having to wait. Bella's heartbeat had slowed even more and her arms had become even more defined. I wanted to peek under the sheet but I refused to do that to my Bella. The next time I saw her naked it would be as my equal. I slid a t-shirt over her head and drew it beneath the sheets. It wouldn't do for Jacob to see her in all her glory. I suppose I could give him that as a parting present but he was undeserving of even a glimpse of Bella's luminous skin.

I went back downstairs and got a glass of water for my prisoner. I found him lying on his back on the cold cement floor, staring up at the ceiling with tears leaking down his face. Why did he have to be such a fucking chick? "Would you like something to drink? Do you think you can manage not to wet yourself if you drink some water?" He groaned at sat up, reaching for the glass.

"How long do you plan on keeping me here?" His voice was raspy, I suppose I should have brought him water sooner than this but I wasn't used to dealing with humans and their constant needs. It was such a fucking nuisance, much like Jacob himself.

I sat on the bottom stair and watched him gulp down the water. "Another day and a half tops. Maybe sooner depending on when she wakes up."

"What the hell do you mean, when she wakes up? Is Bella here? What have you done with her? If you've harmed a hair on her head I swear to God I will…" I was in his face then, an eyebrow raised inquisitively.

"You'll what, exactly?"

His dark skin actually appeared to go completely white. He shook his head but didn't finish his threat. Figures. Fucking coward.

"I thought so. But don't worry your insignificant little head about it, Jacob. I haven't really harmed Bella."

He actually had the nerve to snort at me. I thought about backhanding him but that could wait. I had better ways to hurt him now.

"I don't believe you."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't really care if you do believe me. I have given Bella the greatest gift in the world."

_Fucking rich guy, probably bought her a house or a car or a boat or some damn thing. _Ridiculous human, so limited in his view of what a gift truly could be. "Nothing material, although one day I can and will shower her with anything that she desires."

_Maybe I can't give her things but I can give her my heart, she's had it from the first moment I saw her. _I was treated to an image of Bella struggling with a large box, trying to carry it up to her dorm room. Jacob offered to help her and she gratefully handed him the box, giving him a bright smile of thanks. She was stunning despite, or maybe because of, her sweaty brow. I wanted to lick that image. It was clear Jacob did as well.

"And who's to say that I can't give her my heart as well, young Jacob?" His head jerked in surprise. _What the fuck, can you hear me? _I nodded and grinned at him. _This is some freaky shit. It's like being in a horror movie. _

"Truer words, Jacob."

"You don't have a heart."

"Oh but I do. It doesn't beat and it's been dormant for more years than you can imagine but I do indeed have a heart and it seems that Bella has touched it in ways I never expected."

He actually attempted to growl at me. I was delighted and laughed myself silly. "What did you do to her?"

I gave him my best smile, the one I gave women I wanted to fuck. "Well that's a loaded question. It might be better to ask what I didn't do to her." He glared at me, again. Impertinent little fuck. "Well, let's see." I sat next to the child and crossed my legs at the ankles, leaning against the cement wall. "I kissed her." He blanched. "I tasted her." He closed his eyes and his breathing got heavier. "I made love to her." His hands formed fists and his muscles bunched. "I bit her."

His eyes flew open. "You what?"

"I bit her."

"Why in the hell would you bite her?"

"Because that's what I do. I am a vampire you know."

His mouth opened and closed; his feeble mind not able to comprehend what I was telling him. _Vampires are real? He has to be fucking with me. _"You…you drained her blood and killed her?"

"Of course not." Simpleton.

"What then?"

"I drank much of her blood and then gave her my venom. She'll be like me soon."

He pushed up off the wall then, grimacing against the pain in his wrist. "You turned her into a monster? How could you take someone so good and pure and make them evil?"

My amusement at his discomfort fled instantly and I got right in his face. "You're too young to understand the nuances of evil. There are degrees to everything."

He shoved me, or tried to as I didn't move an inch. "She will be a monster. She'll be a filthy blood sucker, killing innocent humans."

I tilted my head to the side and studied him impassively; his breath was heaving, nostrils flaring. He was really and truly angry. "What makes you think she'll kill innocent humans?"

"That's what your kind does, isn't it?" _He has to be joking but he's so strong, definitely not human. _

"She'll kill humans, sure, but they won't be innocent."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I read minds, as you know. I kill the dregs of society; the murderers and rapists and molesters. What's so wrong with that? She, like me, will rid the streets of the vermin that don't belong." _That wouldn't be so bad I guess but why should I believe a word he says? He killed her and she's not a killer, at least not yet._

"But you killed Bella and she's never done anything bad, has she?" _Besides give herself to a monster that is. _

I was tired of his silent insults so I backhanded him, his head snapping to the side. "Don't you _dare _think ill of her."

"Why shouldn't I? She fucked a vampire!"

"She didn't know I was a vampire, at the time. You must admit that I am a rather good looking individual, how could she not be attracted to me? And it wasn't fucking, I've fucked many women. I made love to Bella. She deserved nothing less."

"What do you know about love?" He sneered at me, a red mark on his right cheek where I'd struck him.

"Probably more than you as I've actually been around long enough to observe it in its every form."

He slumped against the wall, his head hanging in defeat. "I love her."

I watched him for a minute. He surely thought he did. "Maybe you do, but she doesn't love you."

His eyes were red and he was crying, again. "She would have, in time."

"Yeah, because so many girls fall in love with their _stalkers_," I sneered. "You didn't know when to give up, child."

He shook his head and his voice was a whisper. "She would have loved me." I rolled my eyes. There was no use engaging with him anymore, he was damn near broken, not from my fists but from my words. It felt good to have that kind of power over someone. I left him trembling against the wall and went back upstairs to pass the time.

I watched more movies, listened to some music and eventually sat down to my piano and started to play. It was the easiest way for me to while away the time. I fed and watered Jacob again but didn't bother speaking with him. He'd given up. Not much fight in that human, he was completely unworthy of the girl upstairs. She was still quiet and looked like an angel at rest. I longed to lie beside her but I would wait, we'd have all the time in the world for that.

I called Rose again that night but learned nothing new. They all thought Jacob had done something to Bella and either taken off with her or killed her. Rose was a mess, sniffling into the phone. I attempted to be chivalrous and offered to come lend her a shoulder to cry on but she wasn't hearing of that. No doubt she didn't want me to see her snotty and red faced. That was fine; I had no intention of seeing her again anyway.

The sun rose again and I couldn't contain my excitement. She'd awaken sometime today. I gave Jacob the last of his food and stationed myself on the bed next to Bella, just watching her sleep for the last time. Eventually her heartbeat changed, the soft, slow rhythm became a stuttering louder beat. The time was near. I ran downstairs and got Jacob from the basement, dragging his limp body up the stairs.

He finally showed signs of life when he saw Bella lying in the bed. "Is she dead?" he croaked, his arm reaching out towards her. I yanked him away from her and shoved him in the rocking chair in the corner.

"Not yet, can't you hear it? Her heart is pounding right now, pushing the last of the venom through her veins."

"Great, she'll officially be a monster soon." He sounded like a sullen child. I couldn't wait to be rid of him. Only a matter of moments now.

I listened as her heart strain continued, the irregular sound contrasting with the peacefulness on her face. It stuttered and spluttered and stilled, silent at last. I licked my lips and watched as her eyelids began to flutter.

"I thought you said she was dying?" I growled at him, how dare he interrupt our moment?

"Her heart stopped but she will live on. Forever." With me.

"Why am I here? Did you just want to rub it in? Why not kill me already?" I didn't answer him, the fucking fool. Did he not realize that she was going to be the one to end his miserable existence?

Bella's eyes opened at last, the crimson orbs glancing about the room, landing on me for a moment. I saw a spark of recognition there but then she moved on to Jacob. Before I could blink, before he could even register the movement, she was on him.

Her teeth sank into his neck, he screamed as blood spurted from the wound. I felt my cock harden at the sight of that slip of a girl attached to the beast of a man, her strength completely overpowering him as he slumped out of the chair and onto the floor. She was exquisite, her lips and tongue moving against his neck, the sound of her sucking making me imagine her lips around my cock. _Soon._ _I would have her very soon._

Jacob's breath came in one last gurgle as the life seeped out of him. Bella sucked him dry, not letting one drop go to waste. I felt proud and aroused at the same time. She pushed off him, kicking his useless corpse out of her way as she turned to face me. Her ruby eyes studied me for a minute. She looked like an angel with her tousled brown hair and pure white skin, an undeserved gift from God. I was in awe of her. She was so lovely. So sweet, so perfect, so…

"What the _fuck_ did you do to me?"

* * *

**So, yeah, dying to see the reaction to this! Lay it on me, good and bad!**


	3. Chapter 3

Taste of Innocence Chapter 3

What the fuck did I do to her? What the fuck is wrong with this chick_? _She stared at me, her crimson eyes trying to see into my very black soul. _Alright, Cullen, she's just confused. Of course she is. She just woke up from excruciating pain that was preceded by the unequalled pleasure of making love to you. Of course she doesn't understand what's happened to her._

Right. I felt better after I realized that she was just a bit disoriented from her change. Who wouldn't be? I'd had a moment to realize what was happening to me before I passed out. She was clearly too high on me to have realized what the bite to her neck meant. Who could fucking blame her?

"I asked what the fuck did you do to me?" She broke me out of my ruminations with her fierce glare, arms crossed over her heaving breasts. I couldn't wait to have my hands and tongue on them again. _Focus Cullen. _Oh yeah, she needed an answer.

"Bella, sweetheart, why don't you have a seat? I have a lot to tell you." There, I'd soothe her a little, pamper her like the princess she was and soon she'd see what a fabulous gift I'd bestowed upon her.

"I don't want a seat, I want to know what you did to me!" she shrieked, her previously sweet voice piercing my skull like a raving banshee. Indeed, what had I done? Still, I decided to be patient with her.

"I have given you the greatest gift in the world."

"What? An STD? Because whatever the fuck you gave me burned like nothing I've ever had before. Do I have to get tested? You said you were clean!" Holy shit, did she seriously think I had an STD? That would have been fucking insulting if it wasn't so damn hilarious.

I chuckled, I couldn't help it. And she huffed in reaction. It was really quite adorable, if I was being honest. She'd keep me on my toes for the next century or so. "Who would call an STD a great gift?"

"Some psycho who bites people while having sex with them?" Oh, so she remembered that part as well. Good.

I leaned against the wall. "First of all, I bit you after _making love_ to you. What we did wasn't just sex. It was an emotional connection that I've never had with anyone before. And because of that, I decided to keep you."

"Keep me? What the fuck do you mean, keep me? I'm not some stray pet you picked up at the pound, Edward. I'm a person!" She raged around the room, flinging her arms, the t-shirt I'd dressed her in riding dangerously high on her supple white thighs. Venom welled in my mouth at the sight. I had to have her soon.

I ran a hand through my hair, unsure of exactly how to explain to her what had happened. Maybe it was just like a ripping off a bandage. Do it quick and painlessly. Then again, where was the fun in that? A little pain begets a lot of pleasure, at least in my world.

"Well, you're not exactly a person anymore."

Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to figure out how to respond to that. How I wished I could read her mind. I bet it was just fascinating, like she was. "What the hell does that mean? Of course I'm a person!" She glanced down and took in her barely covered body, gasping in surprise at her state of undress. She grabbed the sheet from the bed and wrapped it around her waist.

I raised an eyebrow and smirked at her. "It's not like I haven't seen it all before."

"That was before you bit me and gave me an STD." She was still stuck on that? I burst out laughing, clutching my stomach at the bewildered rage that colored her face. "_Why are you laughing at me?" _Clearly, Bella needed to work on her sense of humor. I stopped laughing and decided enough was enough.

"I'm laughing because you refuse to actually listen to what I'm telling you." Her mouth opened to protest and I held up a hand. Surprisingly, she actually shut up to listen. "We made love and yes, I bit you. I did that because I decided to keep you with me forever. Bella, I'm a vampire and now you are too." There, I'd told her and now we could get on with the celebration. A little sex, some blood, a lot more sex and all would be well.

She stared at me and then backed away slowly until she reached the corner of the room. I watched with interest as she cowered there. "Oh shit, you're one of those escaped patients from the mental institution. Bellevue, right?" She thought I was crazy? What the fuck was wrong with this chick? Here I was being honest and she assumed that I was insane.

"No, I'm not an escaped mental patient and neither are you. I am a vampire. As in, an immortal being that lives off of blood. And so are you. You're welcome." Surely she'd get it now and we could get on with the sex. The way she was staring at me with those bright red eyes made me want to tackle her to the ground and fuck her senseless. Confusion and fear were a surprising turn on.

"Listen, Edward," she spoke softly, as if afraid she was going to arouse my ire by screaming again. She was arousing something alright but it wasn't my ire. "I get that you think you're a vampire and it's very sweet that you want to keep me with you forever." Her eyes darted around the room. "I, um, really like you too and once you've seen the doctor and gotten some good strong medication maybe we can revisit this thing we have, okay?"

Okay, seriously, this girl was fucking dense but adorable at the same time. How the hell was that possible? By this point I generally would be running the other direction but she was so cute. Since when the fuck did I do cute? Maybe I did need to go to Bellevue. I took a step toward her and she cringed further into the wall but there was nowhere left for her to go.

"Bella, love, I swear to you that I am not crazy and neither are you. We are vampires. Why do you think that you leapt out of bed and sucked Jacob's blood?" I gestured to the drained corpse on the other side of the bed. I really had to get him the hell out of my house, his presence continued to annoy me despite his being dead. Stalker asshole.

"Blood? I sucked someone's blood? I hate blood! I would never do that. Oh my God, did you drug me? GHB? Acid? I've read about those and they can make you do fucked up things." I rolled my eyes again.

"First I gave you a STD and then I drugged you? Anything else? Perhaps I pimped you out to the neighborhood to score my next fix? Jesus Christ, Bella, I told you what the fuck happened. Wrap your head around it." I was quite done with this bullshit. It wasn't endearing anymore.

"Wrap my head around it? You tell me you're some kind of monster and you made me one and I'm just supposed to accept it and what? Skip down the fucking street holding your hand? I want to go home!" She was shouting again, her pretty face contorted with anger.

I sighed and glanced around the room, finally finding my answer. "Bella, look in the fucking mirror. Go ahead; I won't touch you as you walk past me."

She eyed me warily but slowly crept away from the wall, giving me a wide berth as she scooted past me. I stayed against the wall and tried to look as nonthreatening as I possibly could. Bella approached the mirror and I sat back and waited to enjoy the show. Maybe she'd finally get it. Seriously, if she continued to be brainless I was going to have re-think this whole eternity thing.

She finally made her way in front of the mirror and let out a gasp of surprise. "My eyes! What the fuck happened to my eyes?" She didn't turn away, staring at herself in morbid fascination. I walked up behind her and took both of us in. We made a truly stunning pair if I did say so myself. The fun we would have! I pictured Bella luring disgusting rapists into a dark alley, them thinking they were going to have their way with her. We'd tear them to shreds, draining their bodies and then fuck next to their empty corpses. God I wanted her. Perhaps I would take her right next to Jacob, it would be the closest he'd ever fucking get to her, alive or dead.

"I told you, your eyes are like mine now." She looked up at my reflection, seeing that my eyes were as red as hers were. She shook her head but I could see the scales falling away from her eyes, finally. It was about fucking time.

"You weren't lying?" Her voice still held hope but her eyes showed none.

"No." I pushed her hair off her neck and showed her the spot where I'd made her mine. I bent forward and pressed my lips to it, touching her skin again at last. Fuck she still smelled good and tasted even better. She watched our reflections, not moving away from me but not touching me back.

"Why?"

"Why what?" I moved up her neck, kissing softly along her jaw. Her body trembled below mine. She wasn't indifferent, that was for damn sure.

She let out a strangled whimper and jerked her head away from me. "Why did you make me what you are?"

"A vampire. You can fucking say it, Bella. It's what we are."

"Fine, then, why did you make me into a _fucking_ vampire?" She still didn't face me, choosing to address the mirror instead of me.

Why indeed? I didn't really have an answer to that question. I just had. I wanted to keep her. Maybe it was as simple as that. I focused on the wall behind her as I answered. "There was…a connection between us. Something I've never felt before. I wanted to explore it." That was an explanation and it was actually true. I didn't understand it, it just was.

She turned to face me then, her hands on her hips as she glowered up at me. There she went with the whole "cute" thing again. She was killing me. "You wanted to explore it? So you basically fucking killed me and turned me into a monster to explore it?" She punctuated her words by poking me in the chest.

I smirked at her again. "Yes, that pretty much sums it up."

"Why couldn't you have explored it with me as a human? Why did you have to make me into a soulless monster?" Damn it, there we went with the whole evil, soulless thing again. Who said being a vampire was evil? Killing might be evil, I suppose, but was it really better to let murderers roam the streets? Fuck it, I was so not getting into a philosophical discussion with her right now. I wanted to fuck, not talk shit to death.

"Would you have really been okay with having a vampire boyfriend, Bella?"

"Well, no."

"Exactly. So we couldn't have explored anything unless we did it my way. Which we did."

"Which _you _did. I didn't get any say in matters, did I? You just took me and bit me!"

"You liked it well enough at the time." She'd moaned and climaxed several times, after all.

She pushed me and I fell back a step. "You didn't give me a damn choice in the matter, Edward. You swept me off my feet and then while I was all hazy from the sex you bit me! Did you not think that I should have some say in whether or not I became one of the undead?"

I shrugged. What was there to say to that? I hadn't considered her feelings on the matter. That just wasn't my style. I saw, I wanted, I took. She didn't understand just how special it was that I'd given her immortality. "I didn't really plan to do it, Bella. I had you here and fully intended to just fuck and kill you but then you were so interesting and there was that connection and I couldn't hear you and I just had to keep you around."

"Wait a minute, you brought me here just to fuck and kill me? All that sweet talk about liking me and listening to me talk about my parents was just you filling time before you took my life?" She was pissed now. _Way to go Edward, you fucked up royally_.

I threw up my hands in surrender. "Look, initially I planned that, yes. But the more you talked, the more I liked you and then I just wanted you for the sake of wanting you. Then I started wanting to keep you. Fuck, Bella, I've never wanted to keep anyone before. Don't you see what a fucking honor it is that out of the hundreds of thousands of people I've come across in my lifetime, you're the only one I've ever wanted to keep and get to know better?"

"_Honor?"_ Fuck, she was back to the shrieking. Why in the hell had I changed her again? _ Stupid bullshit connection. _I had clearly been imagining things. I couldn't feel a connection to a fucking harpy. "I'm supposed to be _honored_ that you killed me?" Her head was shaking side to side and her little curls were bouncing. I watched in fascination and wanted to reach out and wind one around my fingers. I would have done it if I didn't fear she'd rip my fucking hand off.

I rubbed my face with both my hands instead of touching her. "No, you're supposed to be honored that I kept you. Do you know what kind of gift immortality is? Nothing can ever fucking hurt you. You'll never get sick. You'll be a fucking goddess walking the earth. You can do anything now, Bella. How is that not an honor?"

Her glare could have melted steel. "So tell me something, Edward. Now that I'm dead and all, can I have children? Can I have a career and get married and watch my family grow old?"

Children? She wanted children? Why the fuck would she want grubby, loud, annoying children? "No, you know your body will never change. You will stay just as you are now, young and beautiful and free of stretch marks and wrinkles and gray hair, which annoying little kids would give you if you had any. You're welcome." I snickered internally, waiting for the fireworks to go off at that statement. I was taking perverse pleasure in watching her get pissed at me, plus it made me hard as a rock.

Her nostrils flared and I had to force myself not to laugh as my cock tried to tear its way out my jeans. "I'm welcome? Welcome? I don't remember thanking you, Edward. Maybe I should go to the Hallmark store and see if they have a fucking card that says thanks for killing me, love you bunches!" Her voice rose in pitch on every word until she was screaming at the top of her lungs. Thank God this place was soundproofed.

"Perhaps we can start our own card company for all those special occasions that Hallmark leaves out, huh?" She reared her arm back to punch me but I caught her hand in mine. She didn't yet know how not to telegraph her moves. I'd teach her in time, maybe.

There was quite a tiger lurking beneath that kitten exterior and I'd unleashed the beast when I bit her. I didn't know if I should thank myself or kick my own ass. I waivered on that every second that she spoke. I wanted her like I'd never wanted anyone else before but I also wanted to throttle her and hightail it the hell out of the state. I couldn't do that though, she was my responsibility now.

She yanked her hand back and slumped back on the wall, the fight seeming to drain out of her. "I want to go home." She tilted her head back and closed her eyes.

Since I thought I could get away with it now, when she was apparently calming, I reached out and stroked her cheek, absorbing the buzz I felt when my fingertips touched her silky skin. "You are home now, Bella." Her eyes flashed open at my words and she jerked her head away from me.

"What do you mean? I can't live here. I live with Alice and I'm sure she's looking for me by now. And Charlie! He must be frantic. How long have I been gone?"

"Three days."

"Three days?" Panic laced her tone and she started to push off the wall but I held her there. "I have to go and let them know that I'm alright! Let go of me, Edward!"

I tried not to show my own panic that rose up at the thought of her leaving me. Where the hell did that come from? Why did I care so damn much? I couldn't let her know just how strongly I felt so I gave her my patented smirk. "Alright, you can go see them. I'm surprised, though, I really thought you liked your friends."

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Of course I like my friends. I love them! That's why I have to let them know that I'm alright."

"Bella, the instant you got into a room with one of them you'd rip out their throats and drain their blood. It would happen before you even consciously thought about it."

She shook her head emphatically. "Why would I do something like that? I could never hurt someone I loved. I couldn't even hurt someone I hated." I laughed, of course she could.

"You could and would. You're a vampire now. Do you not realize what vampires eat? Hello, you know I bit you."

"But you didn't bite them and you waited until you got me alone. Surely you have some control."

I rolled my eyes. _She's new, Edward, and just a little slow when it comes to grasping the mechanics of vampirism. Be patient._ I took a deep breath. "Yes, I have control because I have been a vampire for over ninety years. You've been one for an hour. It takes months to control your bloodlust."

She stared at me and I swear if she was capable she would be crying. "So I can't see them anytime soon."

You can't see them ever again_._ I didn't tell her that though, she didn't need to hear it now. "No."

"Can I at least call and tell them I'm alright?"

"No, if you did that they'd start looking for you. I've taken care of it."

She eyed me suspiciously. "Taken care of it how?"

I chuckled at the memory of dim Jacob and my machinations to make him look like the guilty party in Bella's disappearance. "I made it look like you ran off with a boy." Or that he killed you. You don't need to know that though.

She snorted. "A boy, right. Who would believe that? Everybody knows I don't date. No boys are interested in me."

I pressed against her and she hissed as she felt my very obvious arousal. "I'm _very_ interested in you." I ran my tongue over her jaw and down to her ear as she writhed against me.

Her hands reached up and gripped my hair, holding me to her as I traced her face with my lips. "Okay, I amend that statement. No human boys are interested in me." Her voice was breathless as I rubbed my cock over her thigh.

I moved my lips to the other side of her face and repeated the process, nibbling her jaw, her ear, her cheekbone. "That's not what I hear."

"What?" I smiled at her inability to follow the conversation. I had her now.

"Rose told me that there was some loser that asked you out all the time." I bent my knees and pressed my dick up against her pussy; the only barrier between us now was my jeans and that would be rectified momentarily. She moaned at the pressure and tightened her hold on my hair. I winced at the pain and pulled back to stare into her dazed eyes.

She shook her head to try to clear it as I ran my hands down her body, to the hem of my t-shirt. I pushed the sheet to the floor and started to inch the shirt up slowly, trailing my fingers over the tops of her thighs, heading to the promise land.

"You mean Jacob?" I growled as his name passed her perfect lips. She should never say his name. He was nothing to her, nothing to us; nothing but a drained corpse that is. I nodded, unable to speak through my anger at hearing her speak of him. "Yeah I guess he liked me but I wasn't interested in him." Of course not, he was a douche. A stalkery, wussy douche. Bella had much better taste than that, after all she was very interested me. I could smell her arousal and feel the wetness dripping down her thighs. "It figures that the first boy that I want is a vampire." I chuckled and pressed my lips to her neck. "I would have been better off just saying yes to Jacob." I pulled back and stared at her in outrage.

"What the fuck did you just say?" She flinched at the rage in my voice.

"I…I was just kidding."

I glared at her. "Are you saying you would prefer that useless dog to me?"

She shook her head. "No. If I did, I would have gone out with him one of the hundred times he asked me. But I'd still be human if I dated him." I was slightly mollified at her continued rejection of the loser so I kissed her. Her lips were still beneath mine for a second but then she responded. I knew she was still pissed at me but she was helpless against me as I was against her.

I abandoned her lips to kiss her forehead and laughed lightly. "I guess, technically, he did feed you dinner. So maybe he got his date after all." Not quite what he'd fantasized about but he should be flattered that he was her first meal.

"What do you mean?" Bella lifted one of her legs and wrapped it around my waist, pushing her pussy against my denim clad cock. I groaned and thrust into her as her lips pressed against my neck, drawn to my scar as I was to hers. I wished she was able to mark me as I had her.

I brushed her hair back and kissed her hungrily. She met my passion with her own. This was right. I returned my hands to the bottom of her shirt, ready to remove the barriers in our way and fuck her right there against the wall. Her hands moved to my shirt and she started to pull it up, I broke off our kiss so she could remove it. A laugh of happiness bubbled out of me; delight in the two of us and excitement at her apparent acceptance of the life I'd given her. My muscles bunched under her tiny, tentative hands as she explored the planes of my chest. "What did you mean about dinner, Edward?" She bit her lip and kept her eyes trained on my body as she moved her hands over me.

I smiled at the memory of her leaping out of bed and sucking the life out of Jacob. "I mean that you had him for dinner. He was your very first meal. Do you not remember?" I shouldn't be surprised; she'd been rather confused from the moment she'd woken up. Of course she remembered me and that was all that had mattered. She dragged her eyes away from my chest and looked at me in confusion.

I gestured over to the corner of the room, where she'd kicked Jacob's body out of her way to yell at me. God that was fucking hot. She stiffened in my arms and tried to pull away but I held fast. "That's Jacob?"

"Who else do you know that has long black hair and steroid muscles and no brain?" Why the hell were we still talking about him when I could be pounding my cock inside of her right now? Bella began to squirm and I pushed her all the way back into the wall to grind against her. "Come on, Bella, he was the first of what will be many kills. We have far more interesting things to do than discuss your former stalker."

She stared at me. "You're saying that _I_ killed him?"

"Of course you did. It was the first thing you did when you woke up. It's okay that you don't remember, the bloodlust takes over that first time. Your next kill will be far more memorable." I would teach her to savor her meals. I leaned forward to kiss her again but she stiff armed me and held me back. "What the fuck?"

"You're telling me that I did that? I killed someone? Not only that, but someone I actually know?" Damn it, she was pissed off yet again. What the fuck was her problem?

"Bella, your mood swings are giving me whiplash. We've been through this shit. You are a vampire. Vampires eat humans. You ate one. The end. Now can we get back to the sex portion of our day?"

"No, we cannot get back to the sex portion of our fucking day. You just told me I killed a man. _A man I know._ How in the hell am I supposed to deal with that?" I laughed as she referred to Jacob as a man, she hadn't seen him crying and pissing himself like a little girl. She shoved me and I wasn't prepared for it so I flew across the room, crashing into the opposite wall and causing a huge crack to form. Her eyes widened at the sight of the damage she could now inflict. Fuck that was hot, and annoying. What was it always a mix of shit with her?

_Patience, I reminded myself. It was working for you for a minute there. _"Bella, sweetheart, you have to try not to be so hard on yourself. You're a vampire now and you just acted upon your nature. It was instinct. I'll teach you to control it but you needed to feed when you first woke up, we all do. You have nothing to feel guilty about."

"_I killed someone, Edward!" _And we're back to the yelling. I fought the urge to roll my eyes as I really didn't want to damage the house any further.

I kept speaking in the calm, rational voice that most women found soothing. "You will have to learn to live with that. You'll kill a lot of people in your lifetime." She opened her mouth to no doubt start another tirade so I hurried on. "Don't worry, love, you have me. I can read minds so we'll only kill the dregs of society, the bad people."

She crossed her arms and glared at me. "Jacob wasn't a bad person." The hell he wasn't. Maybe he wasn't a murderer but he was an annoying stalker fuck who deserved to die for even looking at her. "I wasn't a bad person." Okay, she had me there.

"Jacob was…convenient. I needed some way to explain your disappearance and when Rose told me about him, it seemed right. I made it look like he'd taken you. He was already stalking you, so that wasn't hard."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, depriving me of the tantalizing view. "You keep calling him a stalker, why?"

I threw up my hands. "Because he was! Do you know what I found when I went into his room? He had one of your scarves stashed in his closet."

She shrugged. "That's hardly evidence of anything."

"As I told you, I can read minds. I read his and saw a memory of him watching you change in your dorm room. Did you put on a free show for him?" The thought of that had me seeing red.

"Of course not!"

"Well then, stalker." She didn't look entirely convinced but at least she wasn't yelling. She should not mourn his death.

"And me?" Fuck, she wasn't going to like this.

I sat on the edge of the bed and ran my hands through my hair. "I got tired of all the tainted blood I was drinking so I decided to take someone pure and innocent." I peeked over at her and was not at all surprised to see that she was angry as hell.

"And I just happened to be the lucky girl who stumbled across your path? Jesus, why does this surprise me? Typical Bella! I can't walk in a straight line, can't even talk to a boy without blushing my fool head off, can't do anything physical without hurting myself…of course I would be the one that stumbled across the vigilante vampire who was having an off night!" She was pacing again, gesturing wildly and sending that t-shirt riding further up her body. Fuck she was tormenting me.

I bit back a laugh; it was rather bad luck on her part when I thought about it. But still, she belonged with me. "Bella, even if I hadn't been having an off night, as you so dubbed it, I would have wanted you. You looked at me with those big brown eyes, innocence just shining out of you. Then I got you alone and you were distrustful and sarcastic but still so naïve and perfect. I had to have you." She stopped pacing but stood just out of my reach.

"I don't know what to do with this, Edward. I want you. I know you know that." I reached for her but she stepped away. "I'm so angry at you for taking me away from my family and my friends. I'm angry that you chose to end my life and didn't explain things to me first. You never know, in time, I might have actually chosen to be with you of my own free will. You took that away from me." Well, fuck, when she put it that way it did sound bad. Why did she have to focus on the negative?

"Bella, I understand you have valid reasons to be upset with me. But I swear to you, in time you will learn to love this life. Think of all that we can do and see. I can take you anywhere in the world. We have no one to answer to for anything we say or do. The world is out there for the taking and I want to give it to you. I've never shared myself or my life with anyone before. I really meant it to be a gift." And now I sounded like a fucking pussy. She was turning me into a fumbling human fucktard. I was probably absorbing douchitude from Jacob's corpse.

She watched me for a full minute before nodding. "Maybe in time I will think it is one. It might take awhile."

"We have lots of it."

She sighed and sat down next to me. I started to put my arm around her waist but she shoved it away. Apparently sex was off the table. Fuck me and my big fucking mouth. And fuck Jacob. This was his fault. Cockblocker.

"So you'll teach me to control myself so I can be around humans again someday."

"Yes, and I'll show you how to hunt and pick out all your prey for you. Fuck, Bella, it was so hot watching you sink your teeth into Jacob's neck." She winced but I continued on. "Wait until you're truly aware and can taste the hot blood pulsing down your throat. It's the most magnificent taste in the world and it will turn you on like nobody's fucking business." I smirked at her. "I'll be right there to take advantage of that fact too."

She shook her head and stared me dead in the eye. "I'm not going to kill people, Edward. You're going to have to find some other way to feed me." _What the fuck?_

* * *

**A/N Thank you all for the amazing response to this story. I'm going to try to keep with updating every two weeks, the schedule seems like it will work for me and after SL ends I might be faster. Thanks for reading guys, Smugward gets even cockier with all the love being shown this way. And thanks for not getting mad over the Jacob killing, I have to say I enjoyed writing that and I'm glad you enjoyed reading it! And he is a cockblocker!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N The response to this story continues to astound me. I'm thrilled you all are enjoying Smugward as much as I am. A word of warning about this chapter, it contains spoilers for an iconic TV show that ran a decade ago about a certain blond vampire slayer. If you have yet to see said show, even though it's been off air for 7 years and don't want to know a few spoilers, this chapter is not for you. Edward's views, by the way, are not my own!**

Taste of Innocence Chapter 4

I blinked, not quite sure I'd heard what the hell I thought I'd just heard her say. _She won't eat humans?_ What the fuck did she plan on eating then, Brussels sprouts? _I would have to find some other way to feed her_? What the hell was I, a damn waiter? Edward, bring me the duck? Fuck the duck and fuck this bullshit. It was time for Bella to start cooperating with me.

I looked at her, standing in nothing but my t-shirt, looking positively delectable with her curly hair tumbling over her shoulders. She looked like she'd just been well and truly fucked, which would have been had it not been for that cockblocking corpse and my own fucking stupidity. But no, instead of being sexually sated I was hard as a rock and I felt like what must be the start of a tension headache forming. I had not had a headache since before I died but an hour with Bella and I found out that vampires could indeed get them. How fucking joyous.

Maybe I had misheard her. Maybe sexual frustration was making me hallucinate. That had to be the answer because surely she didn't truly think that she could forego the vampire diet. "What did you say?"

She crossed her arms beneath her breasts, lifting them to new tantalizing heights. Venom started to well in my mouth at the sight before me. The movement served to lift the t-shirt even higher; it was just barely covering her ass. I wanted her. Now.

"I said that I'm not going to kill humans so you'd have to find another way to feed me." Fuck, I had heard her correctly. What had I done to deserve such a contrary woman? _Well you took an innocent girl's life, did you expect her to just say thank you and fuck you into oblivion? _Yes, stupid fucking inner voice, I expected exactly that.

Alright then, I would just have to deal with her. She didn't understand a damn thing about being a vampire, after all. Give her a little time to adjust and I was sure she would see the light. I crossed my arms, mirroring her gesture, and asked, "What, pray tell, do you think you're going to eat then?" She had all the fucking answers, apparently, so let her tell me what I was going to serve her. As if I would ever serve anybody. Sorry, Bella, not even you.

Confusion clouded her face for a second before it brightened again. She was really quite beautiful and I wanted to kiss her. Hell, I wanted to do a lot fucking more than that but I would settle for just a kiss. "I can do what Angel did!" Angel? What the fuck did an angel have to do with anything?

"Bella, I don't know how you've equated vampires with angels but we don't have wings or play fucking harps, okay? Angels don't drink blood either." At least I didn't think so, who the fuck knew? It's not like angels were a part of my dark existence.

She rolled her eyes and I had to resist the urge to bite her right on her stubborn little chin. Fuck she was sexy when she was being impertinent. What the hell was wrong with me? Why did I want her so badly? Clearly it was because I couldn't have her right now. Once I had her again I'd be free of this weird spell she'd woven around me. Yes, that was the key; I just needed to fuck her out of my system.

"Angel is not an angel, he's a vampire." Wait, what the fuck? She knew another vampire? How in the hell did this girl meet two vampires in her very short lifetime? And if she knew another vampire, why was she so damn confused about what we were?

"How do you know this Angel?" Clearly he hadn't fucked her but I didn't like the thought of another vampire around her anyway. We were hardly known for our restraint. How had he not killed her?

Bella giggled and I felt rage welling again. What was she laughing at? "I don't know Angel; I've seen him on TV." Alright, this was fucking weird. Vampires didn't appear on television, the Volturi would not allow something like that to go unpunished.

"Bella, what the fuck are you talking about?" I wanted to know who this fucker was and why she was all excited talking about him. I'd kill him if he even thought about taking her from me.

"Don't you watch TV? You have that huge one downstairs, for crying out loud! Haven't you ever heard of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer?" _I stared at her, the words spilling out of her kissable lips not making any sense to me.

"Wait a fucking minute. You're talking about a character on a television program?"

"Yes! Buffy is classic! It was this really cool show I watched in the late 90's and early 2000's."

What did a television program have to do with our reality? And seriously, what the fuck kind of names were Buffy and Angel? Who watched this shit? Bella, apparently. "And this show was about a vampire killer?" I wanted to laugh, what kind of creature did they think could kill vampires?

"A slayer! She was the chosen one; a human girl born with these special powers that allowed her to kill vampires and demons. She did kung fu and stuff. How could you not have seen the show?" Maybe because I was busy having a fucking life and not being lame as all hell?

"So, this Buffy killed vampires? How?"

She threw up her arms, getting all sorts of excited talking about this lameass TV show. "By running a stake through their heart of course!" Oh my fucking God, kill me now. Hollywood and their ridiculous fucking notions of vampires.

I raised an eyebrow. "And I suppose these vampires couldn't go out in the daytime or they'd burn, right?"

She nodded vigorously. "Right. So at night Buffy and her friends Willow and Xander would patrol and take out the bad vampires." Right, the bad vampires. I rolled my eyes at this ridiculousness. And again with the fucking names.

"What the fuck kind of names are Willow, Xander, Buffy and Angel? Who comes up with this shit?" I demanded; my irritation with the situation clear in my tone.

She put her hands on her tiny hips and glared at me. "Joss Whedon, he's a genius. I won't have you disparaging him!" I bit back a laugh as she got all puffed up over her silly little show. It was really quite adorable, despite, or maybe because of, its ridiculousness.

"Okay, so they kill the bad vampires. Do I take this to mean there are good vampires as well?" That would be a refreshing change.

Her eyes got all dreamy and I wanted to punch something. "Oh, yes, Angel's a good vampire. Well, most of the time anyway. He was very evil but then he got a soul." I couldn't contain my laughter anymore; it came out loud and long at this vampire with a soul. I saw that Bella was getting quite upset at my reaction but I couldn't help myself.

"So tell me, Bella," I choked between laughs. "What makes Angel a good vampire?" Angel, what a stupid ass name for a vampire.

"I'm not going to bother telling you if you don't stop laughing," she huffed in frustration. I wanted to hear more so I worked hard to rein in my mirth. It wasn't easy though. I looked at her expectantly as she waited until I was completely quiet again. "For one thing, he fought the vampires with Buffy." I nodded soberly, not allowing my amusement to slip free. "For another, he didn't drink from humans, except once when he was badly injured and Buffy let him drink from her," she paused a second. "That was actually pretty hot but he nearly killed her." I just bet he did.

Since this television show had apparently defined Bella's view of vampires, I had to ask about Angel's diet. "So if he didn't drink from humans, what did he drink?"

She smiled at me, glad that I was taking an interest I guess. "He got blood from blood banks and the butcher!" she announced with a triumphant air.

I really had no clue how to respond to this insanity. "How did he arrange that?"

"Well he had a deal with the butcher," she said. "That we probably couldn't do." Yeah, I didn't fucking think I could just walk up to a butcher and ask him to keep all his animal blood for me. It might raise a red flag or a few dozen. "I think he stole from the blood bank a time or two? I don't really remember and it seems awful to do that but it's better than the alternative, right?" No, it was not fucking better than the alternative. Nothing was better than hot human blood passing through your lips and down into your throat. The taste, the power…fuck it was intoxicating.

I shook off the hunger that thought had created and focused back on the naïve girl in front of me. How to get through to her? "Bella, sweetheart, I highly doubt you'd find stored, cold human blood to your liking. Part of the appeal is the heat." That was just a small part of the reason but I thought it would be the one she would find most palatable.

Her brow furrowed for a minute but then she smiled. "We could microwave it! You have one, right?" Oh for Christ's sake, she wanted to microwave her blood? What the fuck had I done?

I had to nip this in the bud. "Bella, I don't think…"

She put her hand on my arm and I felt the buzz of that connection that hummed between us every time we touched. Fuck. "Please, Edward, can you at least try? If it doesn't work, we can try something else." Try something else like actually fucking drinking from a human like we were meant to? Why must she fight her nature? Why must she make me want to actually do what she asked? I was so fucking pussy whipped. I knew I was going to agree to it.

"Why can't you just accept who you are?" I put my hands in my hair and tugged in frustration. Just because I was going to give in didn't mean I couldn't fight her on it. I enjoyed making her squirm. I wanted to make her squirm in other more fun ways but she was being completely uncooperative.

"I am accepting who I am!" she shouted, stomping around the room, her hair flying behind her as she paced like a caged animal. Fuck her anger elevated her from cute and sexy to downright gorgeous. She whirled around to face me, her crimson eyes snapping with fire. I literally felt my cock stand at attention as I saw her in all her glory. She stepped toward me and jabbed her finger into my chest. "I'm Bella fucking Swan and I'm not going to change for you or anybody else!"

I couldn't stop myself; I doubted I would have if I could. My hand reached out, buried itself in that thick brown hair as I yanked her lips to mine. Her mouth clashed with my own as our bodies crashed together. I couldn't get close enough to her. I don't know what it is about this girl but I had to fucking have her. Her sassy mouth, which should piss me off, turns me on even more than her beautiful face and her sexy body. I am a fucking masochist, clearly.

I fell back on the bed as Bella's body covered my own, her lips meeting mine with all that passion she'd shown moments earlier. I couldn't really blame her for not wanting to lose the person she'd been; after all I'd found that person fascinating enough to want to keep with me for a potentially endless amount of time. I didn't really want her to change, but a little fucking compromising would be nice.

And why the fuck was I worrying about that when I had her lips on mine exactly? _Focus, you stupid fucker. _Right, then. My hands dove under the t-shirt to finally touch that silky skin I'd been fantasizing about for three solid days. She was steel underneath but soft on the outside. I traced my fingers up the curve of her spine and she pushed further into me, a moan passing from her lips into my own.

I rolled us over so that I could look down upon her lovely form below me. I moved my hands around the front and cupped her breasts with them. Perfect fucking handfuls. I wanted to suck and chew on them. Bella bucked below me, seeking friction where our hips met. I was thrilled to comply with her request, pushing my cock against her. Finally!

I released one of Bella's breasts to bring my hand down to my jeans and flicked the button open. I could have her now. I would fucking have her now. Bella thrust against me and rolled us, apparently wanting to be on top. I was completely in favor of watching her ride me from above.

Neither of us had judged where we were on the bed though and we landed on the floor with thundering crash. I didn't much fucking care and started to tug on my zipper when Bella screamed and yanked herself away from me. What the fuck?

She backed away from me, pain and terror on her face. "Bella, what's wrong?" Jesus Christ, was I going to get laid in this century? What now? I hadn't said or done anything to fucking piss her off this time. She shook her head and pointed towards the corner. Holy flying fuck, she had to be shitting me! Jacob fucking cockblocker Black. We fell next to his fucking body and somehow his arm had landed on Bella's back. Even fucking dead he was a god damn stalker pervert, trying to cop a feel on my Bella. I was going to dismember his ass and flush little bits of him down the toilet.

Bella scrambled away, backing into the center of the room. "Bella, love, he can't hurt you. He's dead." She sobbed at my words. Fucking crap. What was with this aversion to dead bodies? My fantasies of fucking her next to our victims were clearly not going to come true. "Come on, let's get out of this room, it'll make you feel better." I spoke in my most soothing voice and she nodded and got to her feet. I bit back a groan at the gorgeous length of leg in front of me as I still sat on the floor.

Bella bent over and I felt my cock get even harder at the glimpse of her tight little ass in front of me. I didn't bite back the groan this time and Bella jumped as she realized the view she'd just given me. I watched in dismay as she pulled her jeans from the night I met her back on, effectively cutting off my plan of fucking her on the couch downstairs. Her panties were in my drawer of treasures and I wasn't about to give them back to her, she'd just have to go commando.

She went downstairs and I got up to follow her but not before I kicked Jacob's fucking corpse one more time. Asshole. I could not hate anything more than I hated that son of a bitch at this moment. Since I was apparently going to have to venture out to find Bella some blood, I'd kill two birds with one stone and get rid of the loser. He'd cockblocked me for the last fucking time. I heard a satisfying crunch as my foot connected with his face and I snickered. At least that made me feel slightly better. Too bad he couldn't die again though; I would have loved to inflict some real pain on his perverted ass.

Since sex was off the table, fucking yet again, I pulled a shirt out of my closet, hunter green which set off my hair very nicely if I did say so myself. I paused in the mirror to admire my reflection before I headed downstairs to Bella. She was curled up on the end of the couch actually smiling at the television.

"What…" I started to ask when she turned to me and bestowed her lovely smile in my direction.

"Buffy!" she shrieked, pointing at the TV screen. Oh my God, I went from near sex to that fucktarded show she was talking about earlier? What the fuck had I done so wrong in life to deserve this shit? Okay, so I'd killed a lot of people but surely all this cockblocking and sexual deprivation was enough atonement for that.

"I thought you said this show ended last decade?" Surely they'd come out with new shows since then.

"They did but it's in syndication! It's just starting, sit down!" And because I am a fucking whipped pussy, I plopped down next to my girl. Apparently I was going to learn how to be a vampire from the television. Almost a century of living had taught me nothing.

I burst out laughing as a tiny blond girl appeared in the credits. "That's supposed to be the big, bad slayer?" She was smaller than Bella was.

"Yes, she's super strong though." Right. I sighed and refrained from making comments as I watched the little girl kick the shit out of guys three times her size. A geeky looking dude, an old guy and a red-haired girl appeared, along with a pretty fucking hot brunette.

"Who's that?" Hey, if I had to watch this shit at least there were some good looking chicks. Buffy was pretty sexy despite the hilarity of her supposedly being able to kill vampires.

"Cordelia," Bella's voice dripped with disdain. Ha, she didn't like her. This could be fun after all.

"She's hot," I pointed out.

"Whatever, she's mostly useless and a total bitch."

I shrugged nonchalantly. "She's still fucking hot." Bitchy girls were fun to bang now and then. They usually got all fucking attached and clingy though. Girls and their fucking facades, acting like they don't give a fuck but then the instant you try to leave they're all over your ass. Bella scowled at me and crossed her arms again.

Her scowl melted into a smile though when some guy appeared at the end of the credits. He was all broody and shit…ahhh David Boreanaz as Angel. So this was the mother fucker she was referencing. The vampire with a soul; should be fascinating. At least he was relatively decent looking, I was afraid the wimpy guy was the vampire. That would fucking irritate me to no end.

The show started with blondie wandering through a grave yard and I snorted. Of course, vampires had to dig their way out of their graves. Nothing remotely fucking cliché about that shit. Bella shushed me and turned back toward the screen as the new vamp climbed out of the ground and promptly started kung fuing all over the grave yard. Jesus Christ. So vampires just magically wake up and know karate? Or is everyone in this town a secret fucking ninja?

I started to point out how fucking retarded that was but Bella told me to shut the hell up. That was really kind of hot too. I should buy her this stupid show on DVD if it was going to bring out the sassy. Blond girl with the horrible name, Buffy, pulled out her stupid ass wooden stake and drove it though the ninja vampires heart and he turned to fucking dust. Holy shit, could they cram anymore vampire stereotypes into three minutes of programming or what?

The next scene had Buffy at fucking high school? "Okay, she kills vampires at night and goes to high school in the day?"

"Yes, she has to maintain the appearance of being a normal girl." Why? Why not fucking tell the world she's a damn superhero and bask in the glory? Stupid fucking show. The red head and the nerdy boy were all up on Buffy's ass, following her around and fawning over her. They seemed to be spending an inordinate amount of time in the library.

"Why are they in the library instead of class?"

"Because Giles is the librarian." Giles? Another fucked up name. The older dude from the credits came on screen and I deduced he must be Giles. He started yammering about the Hell Mouth that Sunnydale was on and some ancient vampire that was trapped beneath the ground. Holy fuck.

"So why is this Giles guy aware of Buffy's secret?" I can't help it, I'm curious.

"He's her watcher, of course." Right, because I should have known that.

"What the fuck is a watcher?"

She sighed impatiently as I drew her attention from the show. "A watcher is like a trainer, I guess. He teaches her and works out with her and helps her research demons and lore and stuff." Well, that should have been fucking obvious, clearly. Her tone hinted at my being a dumbass and it was really starting to piss me off.

I was about to change the fucking channel, just to set her off, when the hot brunette came strolling into the library. Well, this was more like it! Hello, Cordelia. She took a couple of pretty funny shots at the dork and then snarked on Buffy before heading back out of the library. She was in some tight reddish sweater dress and her ass was prettily on display when she turned. I decided not to change the channel after all.

They formulated some sort of plan to trap the bad vampire's minions that apparently involved them going to some club. Well, at least Buffy looked pretty hot in a black halter top and black leather jacket. I pointed that out to Bella and she smiled. "Angel gave her that jacket." Of course he did. Hey, she was wearing my t-shirt, where was the fucking appreciation over that?

Then that pussy vampire appeared on the screen, standing over next to pool table and watching Buffy like she was going to be his dessert. This show would be like a billion times more interesting if that was the case. Buffy sees him and goes all gooey and they have a pretty hot make out session in a dark corner. Okay, that was pretty fucking hot, not going to lie. I slid a little closer to Bella and put my arm around her. Maybe I can get a little action out of her if she likes this Angel guy enough. I smile when she leans into my arm. Yep, I'm totally buying this show for her.

Sadly, they have to stop making out when some of the ninja vampires show up. I laughed when Angel got punched in the face, I just couldn't help it. Bella just glared at me as a bunch of ass-kicking went on. Angel did ice a few vampires rather impressively but his face got all fucked up.

"What's the deal with his face?"

"That's how vampires look when they're feeding or fighting," Bella announced matter-of-factly. I scowled at that fucking bullshit. Why do they have to be ugly when they're doing what vampires do? Fucking racist show.

Buffy went home and her mom was waiting up for her, yelling at her about being out too late on a school night. "Her mom doesn't know that she's a slayer?" That word was so ridiculous, by the way. Slayer. What the fuck ever.

"Not yet. She does find out later in the show but right now she just thinks Buffy's a bit of a delinquent." I heard the adoration for this stupid show in Bella's voice. God she had bad taste. Well, except when it came to men, of course. Then her taste was impeccable.

Buffy stomped up to her room and pulled on some skimpy night clothes. Alright, that's more like it. There was tapping at her window and in came Angel. I ran my thumb along the back of Bella's neck, prepared for some more sexy times. They made out but there was no real payoff. That sucked.

"Why didn't they fuck?" I demanded, irritated that I had to get visually as well as physically cockblocked. What had my life become?

Bella turned to me then, her eyes all bright and excited. "For a couple reasons. She's a virgin, for one thing, so they don't rush the physical aspect of their relationship. They do sleep together, in season two, but…" her voice broke off and her face looked impossibly sad. I caressed her cheek; I didn't like seeing her look like that.

"What is it, baby?"

"Well, I told you he has a soul, right?" I nodded, refraining from rolling my eyes. I deserved a fucking medal for not doing it, too. "See, Angel was a really bad vampire for a long time. His name was Angelus then." Angelus? Was she shitting me? I bit my tongue and waited for her to continue. "He slaughtered most of this group of gypsies so the remaining ones put a curse on him." Holy fuck, it did get more and more ridiculous every time she told me another thing about this fucking show.

"Anyway, the curse gave him back his soul and it could only be broken when he had a moment of true happiness." Her lip actually fucking trembled over the damn show. Unbelievable. "So, when he and Buffy make love, on her birthday, he has that moment of happiness. While they're sleeping, his soul goes away and he's back to being Angelus again. He's incredibly cruel to her in the morning and she doesn't know what's wrong. They end up having to battle at the end of the season and just as Willow restores his soul…"she broke off and shook her head sadly.

"What?" Why the hell did I even care? Jesus, this was stupid.

"Buffy kills him. She had to because he opened up this portal and this evil guy was going to come out." There were no words, truly. Instead of even trying to pretend that that was not the dumbest fucking thing I'd ever heard, I just kissed her forehead and was rewarded with a beautiful smile that lit her whole face. Totally worth not ripping that stupidity to shreds.

Bella turned back to the TV and got back into the show. "But in season three he comes back after Buffy drops the ring he gave her in the tomb where he died. He returns from hell and eventually they reunite for awhile." She sounds so fucking happy about this fact that I don't point out that there is no fucking way that you return from hell just because a loved one drops your ring where you died. Let her have her delusions.

On screen, Buffy and Angel are wandering through some park that appears to be right next to the fucking graveyard, which really makes sense from a city planning standpoint. Jesus. They come up to some guy with spiky white blond hair and a nutty looking chick with really red lips. They're quite pale so I suppose that they're vampires as well. "Who are they?"

"Spike and Drucilla. They were friends of Angel's when he was bad." Of course they were; Spike, Angelus and Drucilla had all the makings of a fine band of merry fucking vampires. These names! Then again, what did I expect from some guy named Joss?

There was all sorts of verbal baiting for awhile and then Buffy and Angel just left. "Um, if she's the slayer, why the hell isn't she slaying them?"

Bella shrugged. "I don't know, they kept them around as nemesis for awhile but later Spike falls in love with Buffy." Okay, seriously? My finger hovered over the off button again. "They have some really good hate sex for awhile." Hate sex? I could get on board with that. I decided not to turn it off after all.

"What season does that happen?" Hey, if I'm going to get her the show, I may as well get her the episodes that might hold a little appeal for me.

"Six, why?"

"No reason." I plan to surprise her with my present, maybe I'd actually give her a gift that she appreciated for once.

The show ended with some more slaying and Bella turned to me eagerly. "What did you think?"

How best to put this? I didn't want to crush her happiness so I decided to lie. "It was okay. I mean, I think the names are all terrible and the whole ninja vampire thing was funny." She frowned. "But the girls were pretty good looking and it's clear that they put a lot of thought into the show." If thought included going to every vampire story ever written and throwing all the clichés together that is. She smiled though so clearly I'd said the right thing.

"It's a great show." I laughed but didn't take away her illusions.

"So tell me, Bella, do you think that this show has taught you anything about being a vampire? Do you think we're actually like they show on TV?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for instance, do you feel like you suddenly have a black belt in karate?" I couldn't help it, that shit was absolutely hilarious to me.

Her little face scrunched up as she actually pondered my question. "No," the brown curls shook with the movement of her head and this time I gave in to the urge to wrap one around my finger.

"Do you think that when I bite people fangs come out and my face gets all fucked up?"

She bit her lip and shook her head. "I don't really know, though, I didn't see what happened when you bit me."

"Our teeth are razor sharp. We don't have fangs and our faces most assuredly don't get bumpy and fucking nasty like that. Do you think I could ever be ugly?"

She laughed and the sound of it was intoxicating to me. "On the inside or the outside?" I smiled at the fucking insightfulness of that question and tugged on the curl.

"Everybody can be ugly on the inside, given the right motivation. But on the outside?"

She ran her eyes over me and I gave her a lazy grin. "Alright, no, you're incapable of looking ugly," she admitted grudgingly. Delighted, I gave her a quick kiss on the lips and pulled away before she could get pissy about it.

"And do you think we burn up in the sun?"

She shrugged. "How would I know? I haven't been outside yet."

I smiled. "True. Well I can assure you that we don't burn up in the sun. We…sparkle." I cringed at that revelation, for surely it was just as retarded as some of the vampire lore in her beloved show.

Her face scrunched up in confusion. "Sparkle? Why in the hell would we sparkle?"

"I don't know; something about having no blood in our veins. Our body crystallizes or some damn thing. Nobody ever explained it to me other than to tell me to stay out of sunlight when people could see me. We look ridiculous." I reached out and stroked her cheek. "Well, you wouldn't. I'm sure you'd look lovely in any light." Her eyes dropped and she looked embarrassed. I bet she'd be blushing if she was still a human.

"What about holy water and garlic?" She asked, looking up at me through her gorgeous long eyelashes.

"Garlic smells funny and holy water makes us wet. And not the good kind of wet, either," I leered at her and she pulled away from me.

"And what about the blood thing?"

"What about it?" I was confused as to what she was asking.

"Do you think what Angel does, drinking animal blood or getting human blood from the blood bank, will work?" She looked so hopeful. I didn't think that shit would work but if she wanted to give it a try, who was I to rain on her parade? I wanted her to be happy.

"I don't know; I've never tried it." Never saw the point and still didn't fucking see why she felt the need to.

"Would you?" Hell to the fucking no. Why would I?

"Why do you ask?"

"I just thought, maybe, you might try it with me. You know, to be supportive." Jesus Christ, wasn't I being supportive enough by going out to get her the damn blood to try?

I eyed her suspiciously. "Is it just for that reason or are you trying to make me stop killing people too?" She looked away and I knew I had her. "Look, Bella, I get that you have some aversion to the idea of killing people. That's your thing and that's just fine for you. Don't expect me to change who I am for you. You said you weren't going to change for me, so why should I do so? I like who I am." And that was fucking that.

"That's fine," she shrugged, looking entirely too disinterested for my liking.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, you can do whatever you want." Damn right I could. Damn right I would. I'd been doing my own thing for a long time now.

"Great."

She looked up at me from those damn lowered lashes again. Fuck, did she know what that did to me? "It's just that…" she broke off and looked away.

I reached forward and tilted her face back towards mine; I didn't want to be deprived of the sight of her. "What?"

She bit her lip. "I don't think that I can be with you…you know, _be_ with you, knowing that you're killing humans."

_WHAT? _"Are you telling me you're not going to have sex with me if I don't join your ridiculous diet plan?" This could not fucking be happening to me. God had one sick fucking sense of humor, let me tell you.

"Yes," she nodded resolutely. "That's what I'm saying." Fuck that, she would be mine. I'd make her want me if it was last thing I ever did.

I put my hand on her knee and felt her tense below me. I traced circles there, making them gradually larger until I was halfway up her inner thigh. "You think you can resist me?" My voice was a sexy purr that never failed me. Her mouth opened and her little tongue darted out to wet her lips. Her nod was far less sure this time around.

I leaned forward and put my lips barely an inch from hers. I smiled my patented panty dropping smile and she closed her eyes. "We'll see about that, won't we?" I gave her a soft kiss and she whimpered as my hand found the zipper of her jeans, tracing lines up and down it gently. She moaned but didn't pull away. I removed my hand and brought it back up to her cheek. Her eyes flashed open, confusion and arousal clear as day in them. "Game on, Bella Swan."

* * *

**A/N Jacob continues to cockblock...he's more annoying dead than alive, isn't he? I want them to get it on too, I swear, but it's a lot of fun making Smugward suffer, isn't it? **

**Just an FYI, this story is also published on my wordpress site, just in case it ever disappears from here for any reason. Link's in my profile!**

**My other story, Sacrificial Lamb, is nominated for an Indie Award for Canon/AU WIP...I'd love if you guys would vote for me or any other stories you might happen to love, it's a huge list of awesome not so well known fics. The site is www (dot) theindietwificwards (dot) com. See you in a couple weeks with the next chapter! **


	5. Chapter 5

Taste of Innocence Chapter 5

Bella gaped at me for a moment before huffing and crossing her arms over those perfect fucking breasts that I should be licking and biting right at this moment. But no, she had to fucking pull the ultimate cockblock on me. Not eat humans? Who the hell did she think she was to ask me to change my entire existence for her? _Who were you to change her existence without even asking her? At least she asked first. _Stupid fucking inner voice was at it again. I hated that mother fucker and he better shut the hell up. I was not listening.

Speaking of eating, it was about fucking time I had a little something to tide me over. Nothing would taste as good as Bella had, of course, but I needed something to sustain me through all the bullshit that Bella was tossing my way. Animal blood for Christ's sake! I looked at the brunette sitting next to me, intently watching yet another episode of her stupid fucking show. Was she worth the headache? Why the fuck was the answer an instantaneous yes when I wondered that? Pussy whipped, that was the answer. She had me for some unknown reason and I couldn't get her out of my system until I fucked her again. So, I had to get that done. I would win this fucking game; there was no doubt about it. She belonged to me. I remembered the word that had echoed in my head as my teeth sank into that delectable flesh…_mine. _ And she was, so she'd just have to learn that. No time like the present to start showing her.

Satisfied with my resolve, I stood to get ready. Bella's head whipped away from her precious program. "Where are you going?" Her voice was slightly shaky, nerves or desire? Probably both; look at the way she looks at me. She already admitted she wanted me, now I just had to make her give in. It wouldn't be hard. I'd give it a day, two tops, and she'd be screaming my name in the throes of ecstasy. Yes, I was that fucking good.

I gave her a reassuring smile that showed nothing of my inner resolve. "I'm going to dispose of the meal that so offends you and then I'm running a few errands."

She frowned at the reminder of her former stalker. "What will you do with him?"

I chuckled. I could do so many things with Jacob Black; my mind whirled with the possibilities. Somehow I didn't think Bella would appreciate any of my plans though and I needed to be on my best behavior to get back into her luscious body. "Do you really want to know?" Hey, if she wanted to be regaled with the gory details I would give them to her. She valued honesty, right? That's why she was so fucking pissed I'd turned her without discussing it first. Like that was the sort of fucking thing you hammered out over a few beers.

She looked conflicted for a moment before shaking her head. "No."

"Well okay then." I started to walk past her to go upstairs but she caught my hand. I felt the fucking electric jolt at her touch all the way down to my toes. What the fuck was up with that? I'd never felt it before and I strongly suspected I would only feel it with Bella. That and her pussy were the two things that were clearly holding me to her. I should be in another state by now, running from her disagreeable but tasty self but instead this bullshit connection was holding me here. Somehow I had to find a way to turn that off.

"Are you really just going to leave me here?" There was panic in her tone now so I crouched down and looked into her stunning face. Her grip on my hand was almost painful and I flexed my fingers underneath hers.

"Not so tight, Bella." She loosened her hold but didn't let go. I had to hide my smile of triumph. Progress. I took my free hand and slid it over her silken cheek, cupping her chin and staring into those frightened crimson eyes. Fuck, my cock got hard at that needy look on her face. Was there a look she could give me that wouldn't make me stand at attention?

"I can't take you with me, love; you'd give in to the bloodlust the second we got near a human. You don't want to stray from your diet plan already, do you?" Please say yes…if there is a mother fucking God in this world you will say yes and we can get on with the incredible life I envisioned for us.

Her lower lip trembled but she shook her head no. Damn it. This girl lived to test me. "Well then, I need to go and get you something to eat, don't I? So you can stay inside and away from temptation?" Of course there was going to be plenty of temptation within these walls. Bella was not going to know what hit her.

"Edward?" she asked tremulously.

"Yes, Bella?" Tell me you want me to bend you over this couch and fuck you until you forget your own name. I can do that for you, Bella. I've done it before.

"Can I please call my father and let him know I'm alright? I don't need to tell him where I am and I'll even tell him that I'm with Jacob if you want!" I growled at even the mention of my girl with that cur. "I'll keep your cover story but he needs to know that I'm alive." But you're not, Bella, at least not the way he's familiar with.

I sighed. "Bella, it's just not feasible. He'll try to trace the call. He'll search the ends of the earth for you. I saw him on TV and…"

"You saw him on TV? When?" Her hand clutched at me again.

"While you were still going through the change. He came to New York and they showed him on TV."

"He's here? But I have to go to him!" She stood and tried to shove me aside but I was anticipating it and held my ground.

"Bella, do you love your father?" She stared at me like I was an idiot again. I hated that fucking look. "Then you need to stay the hell away from him unless you want him to be your next meal." It was harsh, I admit it, but she had to fucking accept what I was saying. Being a newborn vampire was not all kung fu and happy times like her fucking retarded show would have her believe.

She collapsed back onto the sofa and buried her head in the cushions, letting out some wracking sobs that I felt move through me. I swear, if my heart could clench, it did in that fucking moment. I bent next to her and stroked my hand through her curls, attempting to sooth her. "Bella, love, I promise you that we'll find a way to let your father know that you're safe. It can't be right now, but I'll figure it out. I swear." How the fuck I was going to do that I hadn't any idea but maybe I could buy myself some time.

She peered at me through her tangle of hair. "Do you promise?" Her voice was so pitiful that I readily agreed again.

"Now, let me go get you taken care of, okay?" She nodded and sat back up. "I'm going to go upstairs for a few minutes. You just watch Buffy and I'll be right back, okay?" I managed to keep the sneer out of my voice as I uttered the name of that idiotic show she was so fucking obsessed with. She gave me a tentative smile and turned back to the screen.

I ran upstairs and kicked Jacob's corpse out of my way as I entered the closet. I found a large brown suitcase that would suit my purposes and took that out and opened it on the floor next to the fucking stalker. "It's the end of the road for you, Jacob. I'm only sorry that I couldn't keep you alive long enough to have more fun with you. I'm afraid you're not going to fit in here all in one piece, seeing as you're rather large. Except for your dick, of course, I'm sure that's miniscule from all the steroid use. That's okay, though, you had no use for it anyway."

I grabbed a hold of his arm and popped it off with a little flick of my wrist. It made a very satisfying squishing sound. "Too bad I didn't do that to you when you were alive. Of course, you probably would have cried and pissed yourself again. That shit was foul, Jacob." I threw his arm into the suitcase and quickly moved on to his other one. Dismembering him completely didn't take all that long. "I can't tell you how good it feels to take you apart, Jacob. You do realize that you kept me from fucking Bella earlier? There aren't enough tortures in the world to make up for that."

I picked up his torso and laid that in the suitcase but his fat head was in the way. "Well, look at that Jacob, you still won't fit. They don't list that in the steroid pamphlet do they? Ah, well, it's not like you need your head either. You didn't use it when you were stalking my girl, so you don't need it now." I wondered why I was having a conversation with Jacob's corpse but I was enjoying myself thoroughly. Probably because he couldn't talk back to me and fuck with plans of sex and blood.

I went back into the closet and got out a duffel bag. "This will do." Without further ado, I wrenched his head from his body. That was met with a loud crack and I laughed again. "Good riddance." At least there wasn't a mess to clean up, Bella had drained him completely. Not a drop of blood spilled from his ruined body. I picked his head up by the hair and lowered it into my bag. If Bella would only embrace being a vampire she could have been a part of dismembering her pathetic stalker, it was surprisingly therapeutic. I zipped the duffel and the suitcase, popped in some blue contacts this time and made my way downstairs.

Bella glanced at the bags in my hand and quickly looked away. I placed them down by the front door and walked over to her again. "Do you promise that you're not going to try to leave, Bella? I'm not lying to you when I say that you would start killing the instant you stepped out that door. And if you did that, you couldn't live with yourself, could you?" Her ruby eyes burned into my newly bright blue ones as she shook her head no. "You could also bring the Volturi down upon us if you went on a killing spree and that's the last thing we want."

Her brow wrinkled. "What's a Volturi?"

I frowned, not sure how to explain it. "They're kind of vampire royalty. They make sure that we keep our existence hidden from humans. If a vampire gets too out of control, they destroy them." She shuddered at my words. "Are you going to stay?" I felt like my very being hung on her answer. I would find her if she left, of course, but she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she killed someone she loved. She hated killing someone she didn't even like that much! I couldn't stand the thought of her hurting herself that way.

"Yes, I'll stay. You won't be gone long, will you?" she peered at me anxiously.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "No, love, I'm just going to get you something to eat. Is there anything else you'd like while I'm away?"

She glanced down at herself. "Some clothes?" Well of course, she needed something other than her jeans and my ratty t-shirt. I smiled as images of skimpy lingerie and cleavage bearing tops filled my head.

"Of course," I said eagerly.

She studied me for a moment and took in my expression. "I just need some medium shirts and size six jeans, nothing fancy." I nodded. As if I was going to fucking listen to Bella when it came to fashion. She was a sweet girl; snarky and sexy and stubborn and funny but she was not exactly fashion forward. Her friend Alice had clearly been unable to influence her fashion choices. Now, though, she as at my mercy when it came to shopping and she'd look incredible when I got through with her.

I did a quick mental inventory of the house to make sure she couldn't get in trouble. My cell phone was in my jacket and the house had no phone. The computer was password protected and I was fairly certain that she couldn't guess my password if she tried. There was no other way to communicate with the outside world other than leaving and I didn't believe she'd attempt that.

"Alright, I'll be back in a couple hours. Sit tight, okay?" My hand paused on the door knob and I again felt that pull toward her. I didn't want to leave and I actually felt guilty doing so. What the fuck was wrong with me?

"Bye," she murmured softly as she turned back to the TV. I shook off my moronic impulse to go back to her and opened the door, hefting the bags and shutting the door behind me. I locked it, not that that could keep her in if she decided to leave. My hand lingered on the knob as I locked it. God I was a fucking pussy. I picked the bags up and threw them in the back of my Volvo. I'd take the DadMobile for my errands today; it was less conspicuous than my Vanquish.

It was six o'clock in the evening, twilight was setting and the city was still full of life. I wanted to wander among the people but I had to rid myself of some very excess baggage before I could enjoy the atmosphere again. I pulled onto an empty street and quickly opened the suitcase, grabbing a leg and tossing it into the sewer below. Jacob would be feeding rats all over the city for the next few days. I found it an oddly fitting goodbye for him. I drove several blocks and did the same with each body part, distributing him all over the city. Finally I only had Jacob's head left.

I pulled into the worst neighborhood I could find in the area and stopped the car. I hurried over the duffel bag and lifted Jacob out by his hair. I was completely alone; I couldn't even pick up a stray thought in the area. I studied the disembodied head for a moment. "Jacob, I may loathe you for being a stalker and a cockblocker and a whiny child, but you did get one thing right in your pathetic existence. You recognized the beauty that is my Bella and saw her in a way that not many did. And in one way that only I did, which is unforgivable you stalker fuck. It's unfortunate for you that she belongs with me, and of course that you had to die. At least you got to feel those luscious lips once before you went, right?" I chuckled, delighted to finally be rid of him. I lifted a manhole cover because Jacob's fat head would not have fit through the open drain. I dropped him in and heard a satisfying splash as his head hit the foul water below. "Farewell, Mr. Black, and thank you for providing a wonderful red herring for the police. I'll take really good care of Bella for you, I promise." My mind filled with all the wonderful ways I would take care of Bella as soon as she stopped being so damn stubborn.

I headed back downtown and found parking as close as I could to Sak's. I went in and walked straight to the women's department. The saleswomen descended on me like bees to a flower. Jesus Christ, their minds were filled with images of attacking me in the dressing room. One enterprising girl imagined us on the moving escalators. I bit back a sardonic laugh at that image; somehow I didn't think that would be too comfortable. I wasn't sure what was wrong with me; usually I enjoyed seeing myself through the eyes of the lonely women. Now, something was off about it. It seemed almost wrong? Disturbing?

I shook off all the unwanted attention and started selecting things that would look good on Bella. Since I couldn't touch that incredible body right now, at least not the way I wanted to, I should at least get to enjoy the view. I picked out some form fitting sweaters in the softest cashmere. I kept my selections to jewel tone colors; dark blues and greens and red. With Bella's lustrous brown hair and pale coloring, those colors would look the best on her. I grabbed her several pairs of jeans and some beautiful but simple dresses. I wanted her to turn every head when she was ready to be out in the world and I wanted every man that saw her to envy me.

"Can I help you?" I turned to the blonde saleswoman that was currently imagining me naked. Her imagination was not that far off but I looked even better than she imagined. If she only knew.

I raised an eyebrow at her. Did I look like I needed fucking help? "Tell you what; I'm buying some clothes for my girl. Perhaps you could put these at the register so that I can get even more?" She fucking scowled when I mentioned my Bella. I wasn't even sure why I'd done that. I dropped the clothes in her reluctant arms. She stomped her way back to the counter and I laughed at her disgruntled expression.

I grabbed a few more tops and a couple of skimpy skirts that would show off Bella's legs to perfection. Then it was time for the good stuff! I strolled into the undergarment section with gleeful anticipation. Bella hadn't made any requests for panties and bras so I could pick out whatever I wanted as far as I was concerned. Dangerous black, sexy red, virginal white, soft pink, peach like her gorgeous skin, there was no stopping me while I whirled through the clothes. I got matching sets, all in silk and satin and lace. She would be able to go a month without wearing anything twice. She hadn't told me her bra size but I was fairly confident I had it right, having seen and handled plenty of breasts in my very long lifetime.

I wondered briefly if I should get Bella any lingerie. It seemed a bit presumptuous although I did have every intention of winning our little game. I decided I would get her a few things but for some reason I couldn't make myself buy the more revealing pieces. Instead I found myself drawn to the white silk and another long lavender gown. I wanted to make Bella happy and she'd look lovely and soft and touchable in these. I ran my fingers over the silk and imagined her wearing it. I wanted to touch her again, to see the pleasure in those ruby eyes and hear her moan softly as I touched her.

Fuck, what was wrong with me? I was making love to her again…why couldn't I just fuck the girl and be done with it? Why did I want to watch passion flicker over her face as my hands moved down her streamlined body? Why did I want to taste every inch of her skin? Why couldn't I get her out of my mind?

Fuck this, I grabbed the gowns and stalked over to the cash register and plunked everything down in front of the very surprised looking saleswoman. _Jesus, he's buying her a whole new wardrobe? She must be some kind of model, who gets a guy that looks like that and has him spend thousands of dollars on her? _I scowled. Who indeed? I didn't understand why a young brunette had me tied in knots myself. Fuck, I was done thinking about it. I put a bored look on my face as the total on the register rang higher and higher.

_Holy shit, thank God I work on commission! _"That will be $10,292.33." I handed my black Amex over to her. _ECI Industries? The oil conglomerate? He must be a big wig there but he's so young. Maybe his father owns the company. _Grandfather actually, and that would be owned in the past tense. I sent a fond thought to old Grandfather, my namesake and true bastard if ever there was one. He ruled his kingdom with an iron fist. My father rebelled and became a doctor while Grandfather groomed me to take over the company one day. When he died of a heart attack he left everything to me even though I was only sixteen at the time. The board ran things for me; I only had to step in once after I was presumed dead after my change. I put the fear of God into a board member or two and my company pretty much ran itself. I had fake news leaked to the press of new Cullen heirs every now and then just so they'd know we still ran the company but none of them was ever seen or heard from, of course. My lawyer, Jay Jenks, was the only person who knew of my existence. Money spoke to him and he didn't bother to ask for explanations; Jenks knew when to remain quiet. He acted as my go-between with the board and nobody questioned it. I was worth about three billion dollars, or so I was told. Life was good.

The saleswoman returned my card and breathlessly asked me again if I needed anything else. Yes, bitch, I need to be the hell away from you and your perverted mind. As if I would lower myself to be with someone like her when I had a girl like Bella at home. Showing none of my disgust, I thanked her politely and hauled my packages out of the store and to the car.

Now, apparently, I had to go find some fucking blood for Bella. I didn't know where a blood bank even was…did they have that shit anymore? I doubted I'd find one of those blue busses driving around town so I guessed I'd have to go to the fucking hospital. I made my way back toward home and stopped at NYU Medical Center. How the fuck to get in there and get blood without anyone noticing? Just run in and try to find it? Visiting a patient? No, desperate med student it is.

I schooled my face into a look of exhaustion and nerves as I made my way into the entrance. All eyes turned to me and I heard a few audible gasps along with many mental ones. People were so fucking predictable. Sex, sex, sex, blow job with a guy, romantic candlelit dinner, sex…wait, just a minute. I focused in on the young nurse who was imagining the two of us having an actual date and knew she'd be the one to approach. She was shy and had mousy brown hair and glasses. Once upon a time I would have sneered at the idea of approaching her but there was something in her that reminded me of Bella. It seemed like she had the something hidden beneath the plain exterior. Plus, she was the only one not mentally undressing me; I could appreciate her for that alone.

"Excuse me, Angela, is it?" She started at my use of her name but glanced down at her nametag and then back up at me with wide eyes.

"Uh, yes…can I help you?" Her voice cracked at the word you and she clamped her hands over her mouth. I refrained from laughing and gave her a nervous smile.

"I really hope so. I don't even know if I can ask this of you but I'm completely desperate." I gave her my most beseeching look and watched as she blinked dazedly.

"I, um, I'm sure I could. I'd do anything for you," she covered her mouth again at that verbal slip and turned bright red. Yes, there she was reminding me of Bella again. I liked this Angela. Her mind was filled with images of me asking her to marry me while wearing some fancy tuxedo. It appeared we were on a yacht of some kind. I'd give her points for having a good imagination and some fucking class anyway, unlike the rest of her co-workers who were currently devouring me in various ways in their minds.

I ran a hand through my hair and heard her mentally swoon as she imagined doing the same to me. Hey, if she gave me what I wanted I just might let her. "Could I talk to you alone for a minute?" Though the nosy nurses around her didn't have vampire hearing, I still needed privacy for this request. One of these old biddies would surely raise a ruckus if they heard me asking for blood.

Angela nodded mutely and followed me down a more secluded corridor. "What can I do for you?" she asked breathlessly. Ahh, not what you'd like to I'm afraid, little one.

"My name is Jason and I'm in a big trouble. I have a huge hematology test tomorrow and I had some blood I was supposed to work with safely stored in the lab but it's gone! One of my classmates must have stolen it. I don't know what to do?" I stared at her with my big blue eyes, wishing I could conjure a tear just to bring her to her knees. Not that I needed it, of course, but it would have been a nice touch.

"You need some blood?" she asked with wide brown eyes. They were not nearly as attractive as Bella's had been, these were more muddy in coloring. I didn't like it.

"Is it possible? I don't want to get anybody in trouble but if I fail this test I'm going to get kicked out of school." And then you'll never see me again, Angela. Do you really want that? Of course she didn't, she actually looked panicked at the thought of me leaving. What a sweet, naïve girl.

"I don't know…" she glanced nervously around but nobody was listening. I was on top of that shit. "Are you sure you can't just go to your professor and…"

"He hates me," I interrupted. "He'd be more than happy to kick me out of school. My parents would be so disappointed. I'd have to go all the way back to Chicago and tell them I was a failure. They took out a mortgage on the house to send me here and I hate to disappoint them." I lowered my head, giving off the appearance of shame as I tried to hide a smile. Carlisle would have been so proud of his would-be doctor son. He wasn't overly fond of the original wastrel that I'd been as a youth. What the fuck, though? I was a teenager and I was hot and girls were fun, why the hell should I focus on shit like careers and family?

_How could anybody hate him? I bet his professor is just jealous because he's so incredibly beautiful. Girl's probably fall all over him every day. Someone like me would never have a chance with someone like him. _Don't be too sure, Angela. Bella said the same shit and now I was so fucking obsessed with her that I was out trying to procure her stubborn, sexy ass some blood. Maybe there's a vampire out there just waiting to find you.

I looked up at her through my lowered lashes and actually smelled it as her arousal increased. Fuck, women were so easy. Why in the hell wasn't Bella normal? I could have anyone in the world but I couldn't have her? No, that was bullshit, I _would _have her. "Angela, I wouldn't ask if I had any other way."

She looked at the floor and I reached over and tilted her face up. Her heartbeat became very erratic at my touch. Was it fear? Desire? Both? _He's touching me. _Desire for the win. I gave her my patented panty dropping smile and her jaw dropped open. I stroked a thumb over her jawbone and felt her shivering beneath me. _His hands are so cold. I want to warm them up. _I nearly laughed as she joined her co-workers in fantasy mode. It was only a matter of time. Still, her mind was far more pleasant than most of theirs.

"How much do you need?" she asked. I refrained from letting my smile turn triumphant. "Five pints to be safe. I have a lot of experimenting I need to do. Can you manage that?" I stroked her cheekbone then and she just nodded mutely again. "Here, you can take my backpack so nobody sees it, okay?" I handed her the bag I'd brought in and she took it. "I don't know how to thank you. Maybe I could take you to dinner this weekend if you're free?" Her knees began to wobble and I grabbed her arm to keep her from collapsing.

_He's asking me out? Me? Don't be silly, Angela, he's just being polite. A guy like him would never date a girl like you. _I didn't like hearing her think that way, so much like my Bella had thought before I took her home and made love to her. That had been the best experience of my life. I actually felt bad that I was leading Angela on but I had no choice.

"Um, maybe? I don't know what my schedule is yet." _He's just being polite. No use getting your hopes up. _She pulled away from me and walked down the hallway on shaky legs. There was a cart sitting in the hallway that had some supplies on it and I palmed one of their sample cups. It would serve my purposes nicely. I leaned against the wall and waited what seemed like an interminable amount of time for her to reappear. It probably only took ten minutes but the nurses minds were still assaulting me as I waited. A couple of them even peered around the corner at me and I gave them my sexiest smile, which made them run back to their stations. Fucking idiots.

Angela returned and thrust the bag into my hands. I slipped the cup inside quickly. "You're all set, you can go now." _Don't pretend to like me now that you've gotten what you wanted. _Fuck this girl really did remind me of Bella. I took her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm, feeling her heartbeat start to stutter again.

"Angela, you are incredible. You remind me of someone I'm very fond of." Too fucking fond, damn it. "Thank you very much. I'll be in touch." I would too; I was sending her some flowers first thing in the morning. It was rare that I ran across someone I liked but this Angela had a rare and kind mind. She might just be the closest I'd ever get to reading Bella. She just shook her head, clearly not believing me. I felt a twinge of guilt about that but it had to be done. Of course, if this actually fucking worked and Bella liked the blood we'd have to find an easier way to get it. I'd cross that bridge when I came to it.

I threw the bag over my shoulder and hurried out of the hospital. I hated those fucking places. They reminded me of my father, which was never a good thing. Carlisle was a judgmental prick on his best days, an unmitigated asshole on his worst. I threw my bag in the front seat and started it up. It was nearly nine and I still had to get Bella her stupid Buffy DVD's, so I drove to the Best Buy.

I made my way quickly down the TV show aisle and sneered when I found a whole display of vampire shows. _Angel?_ No way was I dealing with that broody mother fucker in two shows. _ True Blood?_ The only true blood was human blood and it was truly wonderful. _Vampire Dairies? _Should I start a journal covered with fucking My Little Pony stickers, pouring out my years of pain? What the fuck? Where were the shows where vampires were having fun, drinking blood, scaring assholes, fucking chicks? I grabbed all the stupid shows except _Angel _though; no doubt Bella liked them all. I really would have to do something about educating her to the finer things in life. I also grabbed the seven season Buffy anthology. Why the fuck I was doing this when I'd be tortured with this shit for hours on end is beyond me. I really should check into some counseling at Bellevue. Clearly I've lost my fucking mind.

I paid for all the stupid vampire movies from a clerk who actually smirked at my choices. _What kind of dude buys all this vampire shit? He must be gay. _I thought about killing him for his impertinence but who the fuck could blame him? I'd think the same thing if I saw some pussy buying all this shit. The things I did for Bella. She better give in fucking soon because I deserved a medal for all I was doing for her. Or at the very least some really hot sex.

Now that I had all Bella's shit done, it was time to take care of my needs. I had to fulfill at least one of them since clearly I wasn't going to get off anytime soon, at least not with Bella's help. And I refused to jack off; Edward Cullen does not have to stoop to servicing himself. It wouldn't be long before she caved anyway.

A struggle at the end of the parking lot caught my eye and I quickly made my way over. A woman was yanking her kid by the arm, shoving him into the car as he cried. He looked to be about eleven years old with messy brown hair and gray eyes. Tears were streaming down his face as he pleaded with her. "Please, I'm sorry, Mom, I didn't mean to."

"You never mean to. When will you learn? How many times have I told you to keep your fucking mouth shut? You never listen. Do you think I like punishing you?" Judging by the images in her head, she clearly did like punishing him. I winced as she plotted out which belt she'd use on her child when she got him home. His eyes were full of fear as he begged her not to hurt him again. Her lips thinned into a straight line as she wrenched his arm. He yelled in pain and she slapped him. "Shut up, Tyler, I'll deal with you when we get home." What a fucking bitch. If there was one thing I truly hated in this world, it was an abusive parent. How could you hurt someone that came from you? Clearly, I wasn't going to have to go very far to hunt. There were fucked up people everywhere I turned.

I glanced around the parking lot but of course I was the only one who'd seen the cunt of a mother hurt her son. I stepped out of the shadows. "Excuse me, miss?" I purred in my sexiest voice. She whirled around to face me and took a double take as I stepped under the light so she could take me in completely. _Shit, did he see that? _Yes, bitch, I did. And you're going to die because nobody should hurt a child. I could abide many things but that was something I didn't tolerate.

"What?" she asked nervously, shifting from foot to foot, her eyes, gray like her sons, looking all around the parking lot.

"You accidentally left your credit card at the register. They called after you but you were already out the door. I was on my way out as well and I thought I'd let you know." She frowned and reached toward her purse. I plucked her name out of her head as she pictured the card she'd used, at least I'd guessed right. "Charlotte Peters, right?" She stopped her search for her wallet at my use of her name.

"Yes, that's right."

"Well, you might want to go get it, they're about to close." I turned as if to make my way back to my car, to show I wasn't any kind of threat. She snarled at her son to stay in the car and started toward the store. I ducked out of sight and as soon as she stepped out of the light I grabbed her and ran behind the building.

"Do you think it's okay to treat your child that way?" I demanded. She took a deep breath, prepared to scream and I slapped my hand over her mouth. "I can see into your sick, twisted mind you bitch. I know what you do to him." She shook her head, her dirty blond hair brushing against my hand. I wanted to yank it out by the roots but I couldn't afford to truly teach her a lesson before she died.

"Don't even think about denying it, I know what you're like. I've seen your type countless times. Do you know what I do to vile people like you?" She shook her head, her eyes wide. It was fucking intoxicating, the scent of fear pouring off her body.

"I kill them." I ran a finger over her cheek and she flinched away from me. I pressed her harder into the wall and tilted her head. "You really aren't worthy of the honor of death at my hands but your son deserves to live a life free of fear that he'll be hit for not eating all his vegetables or whatever ridiculous bullshit you deem worthy of punishment." She whimpered and tried to speak but I wasn't hearing her crappy excuses. Her mind was filled with fear but there wasn't an ounce of remorse for her treatment of her own child either. I snapped her neck and saw the instant death in her eyes. It was entirely too good of a death for her but I had to get back to Bella. I sank my teeth into her neck and let the hot liquid burn its way down my throat. I closed my eyes and hummed in pleasure as I drank to her death.

I had to stop all too soon, not wanting to deviate from my initial plan. I took the sample cup out of my jacket and squeezed some blood out of her neck into it. I raised the glass in toast to her as I popped the plastic top on the cup and put it back in my pocket. I hauled her body over to the dumpster behind the store, taking my finger and slitting her throat open to cover any sign of a bite mark. I took her purse and got her cell phone and wallet out, dumping the rest in the trash with her. At least she was where she belonged. I ran back to her car and knocked on the window. The boy, Tyler, jumped and edged away. Of course he was frightened.

"Tyler, I'm putting your mother's phone on top of the car. After I leave, get out and call your father or a grandparent, someone you trust, to come get you. Can you do that?" He just stared at me but I didn't really have time to work on earning his trust. I set the phone and wallet on top of the car and ran back to my own, getting out of the parking lot quickly. There were no cameras from what I could see, not that I was really worried about being identified.

I arrived back at the brownstone in about fifteen minutes and I got out of the car, filled with anticipation. She was still there; I could hear her giggling at the television. Relief washed over me as I got out all my bags and made my way to the front door. I paused before unlocking it, taking out the sample cup and grinning in anticipation. I tipped the cup to my mouth and let most of the blood dribble down my chin and neck, staining my shirt. I unlocked the door and stepped inside. Bella's head turned from the TV and her eyes turned coal black as she caught the scent of the bitches' blood on me.

I barely had time to drop the bags before she launched herself at me, her lips smashed against mine, her tongue moving over my lips and teeth as she lapped at the blood. My head hit the door as she pushed my body against it and pressed hers flush to mine. Her tongue trailed down my chin and jaw, licking every drop of the vile woman's blood off me. I didn't try to contain the groan that escaped me as my cock hardened from her ministrations. Bella whimpered as she sucked up the blood, her tongue tracing over my shirt. She worked her way back up to my lips and ran her tongue over them again. I opened my mouth and met her tongue with mine. She moaned as she tasted the remains of the blood in my mouth. Oh yes, my plan had worked perfectly. I tightened my arms around her as she continued to try to get any remnants of the sweet nectar from my mouth. She finally pulled back, her breasts heaving and her eyes still black as night as she stared at me.

I licked my lips and smiled at her. "Are you sure about this whole diet thing, baby?"

* * *

**A/N Hmm, it seems our boy is starting to show a little bit of his softer side. What is Bella doing to him? Of course, he's not about to fold this early in the game, now is he? **

**I took a little liberty with the ability to drive and park in NYC, I'm aware that it's quite an ordeal and few drive there but Smugward needed a car for all his errands. I also know that _Vampire Diaries_ is not out on DVD yet but let's pretend that they pulled a _Glee_ and released half the season on DVD. Yes, I watch both shows :)**

**Let's all bid a sad adieu to cockblocker extraordinaire Jacob Black, shall we? I'm going to miss his interfering corpse! Now I guess Bella has to be her own cockblocker. I think she'll be able to handle it!  
**

**So, HUGE news as far as I'm concerned, my other story, Sacrificial Lamb, somehow made it into the final voting for the Indie Awards under Best Canon/AU WIP!!! I have no words for how blown away I am by that and I thank those of you that voted for me. Voting starts again March 15th and I'd love your support or just support for all the great stories that made the cut. Thanks so much you guys, I adore you. You put a huge grin on my face with the last chapter and then to get that news on top? I'm inspired to write about a billion stories now. If only work didn't interfere! Thanks again, you all rock!**


	6. Chapter 6

Taste of Innocence Chapter 6

Bella looked so entirely fuckable that it took all of my strength not to just launch myself off the door and just tackle her to the floor. It might work, it might not, but it wouldn't be winning the way I wanted to win. I wanted her to look at me with eyes filled with desire and ask me to fuck her in that breathless voice she used when I had her completely turned on. There was no better sound in the world as far as I was concerned and I would hear it again.

"You did that on purpose," she hissed, clearly not using the voice I wanted to hear more than any other right now. Well, she was fucking pissed, what a damn shocker that shit was.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I picked up the packages and thrust them toward her, avoiding stepping any closer at the moment since it looked like she wanted to take a swipe at me. She stepped up and yanked the bags out of my hands, tossing them back on the floor. Alright then, it looked like it was time for her to have another fucking hissy fit. Should be fun.

"You purposely spilled blood down the front of you so that I would attack you like that." She punctuated each word with a jab of her finger. I wondered idly how she'd react if I lifted her finger and put it into my mouth and worked a little magic on it with my tongue.

To lie or not to lie, that was the question. Fuck, what did I have to lose? "Oh, that? Well of course I did." I mean, I wasn't some savage that was incapable of eating without making a giant fucking mess. Bella knew that much about me at least.

Her finger stopped attempting to puncture my rock hard chest and she put both hands on her hips. "Why? Why would you do that to me?" Why the fuck was everything I did wrong in this girl's eyes? And why did she make me feel strange every time she looked at me with those disapproving red irises?

I smirked at her and she hissed in reaction. Damn, she was so hot when she was pissed off. Maybe that's why I messed with her so often. "Why did I spill blood down myself? Did you see your fucking reaction? What guy wouldn't want to be mauled the instant he walked in the door by a horny, hungry, sexy woman?"

She let out a scream and started stomping around the room. It was hilarious and I didn't try to contain my laughter. She whirled around and glared at me. "Is that all this is about with you, Edward? Sex? You could get sex anywhere you wanted, why in the hell are you so obsessed with getting it from me?"

My laughter died down at her words because I didn't have an answer to that fucking question. I had to try to look at it logically. We'd been together once and it had been fantastic. I'd had fantastic sex before but there was something more with her that I couldn't quite define. Thus, I'd decided that I wanted to keep her around and bit her. Now here we were, just a few hours after she'd woken up and I was already running around town being her little bitch and panting after her like a dog in heat. What the fuck was my issue? Was it because she wouldn't let me have her? Was I that fucking stubborn that I had to have her just because she wasn't cooperating?

Then there was that fucking bullshit connection I felt every time I touched her. Like I should always be touching her and she me. Like we belonged together like some ridiculous couple from a fucking cheesy romance novel. That shit was not my style and why the fuck I even thought of them in relation to her just pissed me off.

And then there was the fact that I actually enjoyed her in a purely nonsexual way. Okay, sex was never far from my mind when it came to Bella but even when she was being contrary as fuck and trying to change my life in unacceptable ways I still found her interesting and likable. What the hell was that about? She'd been so damn cute watching her stupid vampire show and teasing her about it was completely amusing.

"Well?" she was tapping her foot and watching me with those judgmental eyes. Fuck, what did I say to appease her? What was true and what was just supposition? I didn't understand my reaction to her and I sure as fuck didn't know how to explain it to her when I couldn't explain it to my own damn self.

"I just like you," I blurted out, the words erupting from my lips before my brain even processed what the fuck I was saying. Holy shit, was that it? I liked her? _Liked her _liked her? Like a fucking twelve-year-old chick who doodles the pimply faced class president's name on her fucking notebook? What the fuck had she done to me? I pressed my hand to my groin and found that I did still have my fucking balls; Bella wasn't holding them in her purse or anything insane like that. Jesus Christ. I liked her. That felt right even though it sounded completely ridiculous.

Her eyes got impossibly wide and she gasped. "You like me?" I just shrugged; there was no point in saying anything else because God knew what fucking slop would pour out of my mouth if I tried to speak again. Would I start spouting Shakespeare's sonnets at her? Maybe a flowery love poem from Robert Browning? Fucking Christ, she'd probably like shit like that, lit major that she was. Well that shit was never going to happen.

"But you don't even know me," she pointed out, all logical and shit. And that was rather fucking insulting because while I might not know every little thing about her, I knew plenty. I knew how much she loved her father and her flighty bitch of a mother and that she clearly only saw the good in them because she didn't hold her mother's reprehensible behavior against her when she foisted her off on her father at age seventeen. I knew that she had bad taste in TV shows and that her eyes lit up when she laughed and that she was smart but naïve at the same time. I knew how soft her skin was and what it sounded like when she was at the peak of passion. I knew just how quickly she got angry and even how quickly she could calm down and be logical. Don't fucking tell me I didn't know her. I knew her better than I knew anybody save for myself, although I didn't really know my fucking self at all right about now, did I?

"I know a lot about you and what I don't know already, I will learn over time. That's why I kept you around." That seemed like something safe to say. Only it wasn't because her eyes got bright and her nostrils flared again. Fuck.

"Oh yes, that's why you made the decision to end my life and give me your eternal gift, right? Well I'm so damn thankful that you like me, Edward, really! I'll sleep quite well at night knowing that someone cared about me enough to take me away from everyone I knew and loved!"

"Crap, are we really going there again?" I demanded, pissed that we had to discuss the same shit over and over again. She was so fucking…ugh! I didn't know what the fuck she was but she was trying my patience every second of the day. She just glared at me some more. "Fine! I fucked up by not talking to you first. Of course, if I had, you would have run screaming in the other direction and I would have had to kill you anyway so you didn't out me to the world. Don't you get it? It was a last minute decision. I was supposed to kill you and for some fucking reason I couldn't. Do you not feel it every time we touch? Surely it's not just me?"

I reached out then and ran a finger over the edge of her jaw and there it was. That fucking spark that drew me to her like a moth to a flame. What the hell was it with this girl? Why couldn't I just walk away? Why didn't I want to, despite all the fucking grief she gave me? She pressed her cheek against my hand and her eyes fluttered closed. She did feel it! I knew it couldn't just be me. Thank God.

I breathed a sigh of relief and her eyes opened, looking slightly glazed. She shook her head and stepped away from my outstretched hand, the electric hum fading as soon as I wasn't touching her. I felt strangely empty when she moved away from me. "Yes, I feel it," she admitted. "I don't know what it is."

I tucked my hand in my pocket and grimaced at her. "Neither do I. I've never felt anything like it before. Can you blame me for wanting to figure out what the fuck it is?"

She shook her head, her little brown curls moving over her shoulders. They fucking fascinated me for some reason. "There had to have been a better way."

Damn it, did she ever fucking listen? "What better way, Bella? If I told you the truth, you would have left me and we both know it." The panic threatened to well up again at the idea of her leaving me and I squashed that shit down before it could start.

"You could have taken time and we could have gotten to know one another and then you could have told me what you were," she suggested.

Right, because that would have gone over so fucking well, just like every revelation did with her. "Then you would have been a thousand times more pissed at me for lying to you for however long that took," I pointed out. Her little face scrunched up and she opened her mouth but nothing came out. Ha! She couldn't deny it because it was true. Tells me I don't fucking know her…I sure as shit knew what would piss her off, didn't I?

"Well there had to have been a better way." Christ she was so fucking stubborn.

"When you come up with said better way, you be sure to let me know," I said, walking over to the couch and plopping down with a sigh. Talking with Bella always made me feel like I'd fought a thousand men or something. She exhausted me and I didn't have the luxury of…oh yeah.

"By the way, you don't sleep anymore."

She blinked at me in confusion. "What?"

"Earlier, when you were yelling at me, you said you'd sleep well knowing that I cared about you enough to take you away from everyone you knew and loved." She winced as I repeated her words back to her. "We don't sleep."

"Why not?"

"Fuck if I know. Our brains just don't still enough to allow us to rest. We don't need sleep to function. All we need is blood." I snickered a little as I heard that to the tune of the Beatles "All You Need Is Love" in my head. John Lennon would probably roll over in his grave if he heard my version of his little ditty.

Bella dropped onto the other end of the couch, just out of reach yet again. "No sleep. Blood…ugh. What exactly is so great about being a vampire?"

"Well you seem right fond of them in your silly little shows. Speaking of that…" I got up and grabbed the Best Buy bag and shoved it at her. She opened it and burst into giggles as she saw the DVDs I'd bought for her. Her laughter made me smile.

"Edward, I know you hated _Buffy._ Why would you buy me all seven seasons and then these other two shows as well?"

I sighed. Telling her I hoped it would let me get into her pants would just get her pissed again and I was too tired to bother with it. "I knew you'd like them and we've already established that I like you even though you don't think I fucking know you."

"Alright, you know me a little, clearly enough to get me three shows that I enjoy. So thank you." Finally, some gracious acceptance of a gift. In time she'd thank me for the rest of them, I knew it.

"You're welcome. I don't suppose you're going to spare me from having to watch them with you as a way of thanking me, are you?"

She shook her head and smiled at me, her whole face lighting up. I wanted to kiss her. Fuck. "They're all quite different and I can't wait to watch them with you! We have all the time in the world now, right?" How about that, she was joking about eternity. More progress all the fucking time. This was more like it.

"That we do, Bella." I gave her a smile of my own, grateful that she wasn't fucking yelling at me for once.

"Edward?"

"Yes, Bella?"

"Was me attacking you the only reason you came in with blood all over you?" Oh crap, back to that again?

"No."

She tilted her head at me. "What then?"

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. Bella leaned over and took it in her own. I smiled as I looked at our joined hands and felt the buzz again.

"You're just going to get fucking pissed at me when I tell you." She would, too.

"I promise that I won't. I'll listen, okay?"

That would be a fucking first. "Alright, then. Yes, firstly I hoped that it would have the effect that it did on you and you'd be all over me. That worked out rather nicely, I think." I smiled at her and she frowned and tried to tug her hand from mine but I held firm. "Oh no, you said you'd listen," I reminded her.

"Fine, go ahead." She sounded all pissy again. It was hilarious. I squeezed her hand in delight.

"Second, I wanted to show you what you reaction to fresh human blood would be. You don't remember attacking Jacob, but it was just like that. Instinct took over and ruled you in that moment. I was just reiterating the fact that you really can't leave and go wandering the city anytime soon."

She didn't look too pissed at that, surprisingly. She just watched me for a minute and then nodded her head slowly. "I admit that I thought you were exaggerating things, trying to keep me here until you won your little game." Well of course I wanted that too but she didn't need to know that.

"I'm glad you didn't try to leave and find out the hard way." There, I was a fucking hero, allowing her to attack me instead of her beloved humans.

A look that could only be described as guilt came over her face. I reached out with my free right hand and cupped her face. "Bella? What did you do?" She hadn't left, that much was clear, so what could she feel guilty about?

She bit her lip and I felt my cock stir again. Damn it, did she know what that move did to me? She probably fucking did. Manipulative woman. "Bella?" I spoke firmly, letting her know I wasn't playing anymore.

"I may have, sort of, tried to use the computer to contact my dad." Is that all? I fully expected her to try but she wasn't going to guess my password.

"And were you successful?" Unless she was a master computer hacker, there was no way in hell.

"No." She tried to look away but I held on to that beautiful stubborn chin of hers.

"Then why are you feeling guilty?" I was insanely curious as to what had her looking like a chagrined child.

She bit her lip again and this time I didn't suppress the groan. Her eyes flashed up to mine in surprise and then her mouth curved in a tiny little smile. Fuck, she knew that got to me now. The woman had entirely too much fucking power over me already, if she learned how to wield it I was a fucking dead man. Well, a deader man than I was already. "I got sort of mad when I couldn't get into it and I might have smashed the keyboard into the computer screen," she said all in a rush.

I laughed. "You might have?"

"Okay, so I did! I couldn't help it, one second I was pissed that I couldn't use it and the next the keyboard was sticking out of the monitor!" I pulled her to her feet and walked into the computer room with her hand still in mine and sure enough, the keyboard was in the dead center of the monitor. At least she hadn't fucked up the hard drive. Looks like I'm going back to Best Buy tomorrow.

Bella eyed me nervously. "I'm sorry. I know you told me you'd help me contact him sometime but I really hate that he thinks I'm lying in a ditch somewhere. He has to be so scared, Edward."

I pulled her to me and she actually came willingly into my arms and let me hold her. "I know you're worried about him, Bella, and I will find a way to let him know you're alright. But you can't try emailing him. That can be traced and you know what would happen if he came here. You saw an example of that tonight, and that was just a small amount of blood minus the tasty human attached to it. If you trust me on nothing else, at least trust me on this; you can't be around a human right now."

She nodded and kept her face pressed into my shoulder. I leaned my head against hers and breathed in that lavender and freesia scent that was purely hers. It was fucking addictive. "I'm sorry," she pulled back and I fought the urge to yank her against me again.

"Don't be. I needed a new monitor anyway." She laughed and shook her head.

We made our way back into the living room and I picked up the backpack and took out the packets of blood. "I need to put these in the refrigerator." I should have done it right when I got home but I got distracted by Bella, as usual. She followed me into the kitchen and sat down at the little wooden table I had in there while I stored her disgusting packaged blood. I pulled out a chair and sat next to her, watching her. Something was going on in that busy little head of hers.

"So, did you just kill some random person because you wanted to teach me a lesson?"

I smiled. "Don't forget, I also wanted to get your lips on mine again. Mission accomplished!"

She huffed at me and put her head in her hands. "I'm being serious, Edward. I can't believe you would kill a human being just to have me all over you." I would do many fucking things to have her all over me. Countless, unspeakable amounts of things. I didn't think she wanted to hear that right now though.

"I didn't kill a human being. I killed a depraved bitch. I would have killed her with or without your being here waiting to jump me." I chuckled at the irritated expression on her face. "Bella, I have to eat too, you know, and I'm not going on your special diet. You should be happy that I kill people like her."

"I could never be happy that you killed people, Edward. And what do you mean, people like her?"

"Vile vermin that beat up their children, Bella. She abused her own child. She smacked him and twisted his arm and was planning on using a belt on him when she got him home. Should I have just let her go? I saved a life by taking a life and the life I saved was far better than the life I took. People like her don't deserve to live."

"She hit her child?" Her voice was filled with disbelief. She was a protected, sheltered child with a police chief father. He must not have ever brought his work home with him.

"She didn't just hit her child, Bella. Hitting is too tame a word for what she did. She beat him. She abused him. He's eleven years old and afraid of his fucking shadow. He should be out raising hell with his friends but instead he's cowering in his bedroom every night, afraid he'll fucking do the wrong thing and piss his mother off and get beaten some more." My voice was filled with the bile and rage that overtook me every time I thought about parents striking their children.

She looked at me, her red gaze piercing. "You speak like you know a lot more about it than just what you hear in people's heads." She was too fucking perceptive. I shook my head in automatic denial but her little hand shot out and caressed my face this time. She fucking knew what her touch did to me and now she was using it against me. Damn it all to hell. "Did someone do that to you, Edward?"

"Bella, I'm unbreakable, nobody can hurt me," I scoffed, avoiding her penetrating look.

She tilted her head and kept those all-knowing eyes on me. "I don't think that's true, but I'm talking about before you became a vampire."

Part of me wanted to pull away but another stronger part of me that craved her touch demanded I stay right where I was, with her tiny hand sending sparks down my entire body. "Things were different back then," I muttered.

"That doesn't mean they were right. Did your mother hit you, Edward?"

"Esme? She didn't have the time of day for me. She was more interested in procuring her next bottle of booze and going to her next garden party. She was a social climber but hardly abusive." Maybe that was enough for her.

"Your father?" Of course it wasn't. He would have had to have been around to raise a hand to me.

"No, Carlisle and I fought like cats and dogs but he never hit me. Not even the time I lost my cool and punched him. He was a doctor, an important man and rarely around. We didn't like each other overly much." That was a fucking understatement. Dear old dad thought I was a waste of time, rich and entitled and too busy screwing around to do anything important with my life. I was fucking seventeen, that's what I was supposed to be doing. What the fuck ever.

"Who then?" Damn it, why couldn't she just let it lie? Her eyes remained steady on mine as her hand stroked my cheek.

"My grandfather. He walked with a cane. Do I need to paint you more of a picture than that?" My voice was harsh, bitter. I was pissed that she was pushing me to talk about something that I had no interest in remembering. It was over ninety years ago for fuck's sake and had nothing to do with my life today.

She gasped and shook her head but kept right on touching my face. It was heaven and hell at the same fucking time. "I'm so sorry, Edward."

I pulled back then, her touch was burning me and the memories of that old bastard should never be tainted by the beauty of her hands on me. "You have nothing to be sorry for. It was a long time ago and I'm over it."

Her hand fell to the table but she kept it close enough that I could reach down and touch her without much effort. I resisted the urge to do just that. "You're not though, or you wouldn't be so angry about that woman and her child now."

I snorted at that. "Really? It wouldn't make you angry to see a woman manhandling her child? I don't think my past has anything to do with it. My grandfather, abusive fuck that he was, left me his fucking company. It's thanks to him that I have a fortune today, so I guess he atoned for his sins monetarily anyway."

Bella shook her head, her eyes big and sad. "No, Edward, no amount of money makes up for that." She was right but I wasn't going to fucking tell her so. I was over this conversation.

"It's irrelevant, really. She was evil and she needed to die. End of story."

Bella sighed and moved her hand out of reach. Moment of kindness apparently over. "Who are you to decide who deserves to die? What if she could have gotten help?" she sounded almost accusatory for some unknown reason.

"People don't change, Bella. At least not people like her."

"How do you know?"

"I believe we've just established that I know from fucking experience. You don't know shit about it. Has anyone ever struck you in your life?" She flinched at my angry words and shook her head. "I didn't think so. Should I have just walked away and let her beat her kid? Would you be applauding me for showing restraint then?"

"No, of course not!" she shouted, pushing back from the table and standing up.

"Then what would you have me do?"

"Go tell a policeman!" she put her hands on her hips and positively glowered at me. I burst into laughter at both her words and her expression. It was priceless.

"Holy fuck, Bella, are you serious?" She let out a huff and nodded.

"So I should go up to a cop and say what exactly? Hi, I'm a vampire who also reads minds. That lady over there is abusing her son. Go arrest her." If she didn't realize exactly how fucking ridiculous that was there was truly no hope for her.

"Of course you couldn't tell them about being a vampire but surely you could tell them that she was an abuser."

I laughed sarcastically. "Right, Bella, he's just going to take my word for it. You know nothing about it. Her son wouldn't say a word against her, for fear that she wouldn't get charged with anything and she'd take it out on him even worse when he got home. You lived in your little glass bubble where the dark side of life never fucking touched you. You don't know shit about it!" I was yelling now but I didn't fucking care.

"My father would have listened!" she shouted right back at me. "There are a lot of good people in the world, Edward, not all of them are like that woman or your family. People care about one another." She was quite worked up, gesturing all over the place. It would have been cute if she wasn't so fucking naïve.

"People look out for number one, Bella. I know that better than anybody."

"Edward, you can see into people's minds. Surely you hear some good thoughts along with the bad."

God, she really was a child. "Occasionally. The bad tends to outweigh the good, though. People often think things they don't have the balls to say." Not that I had that problem, except when Bella was holding them apparently.

"So how can you be sure what you're hearing is someone's reality rather than just their fantasy thoughts? I've said I wanted to kill or hurt someone before but I didn't mean it. What makes you the judge of who lives and who dies?" she demanded again.

"Bella, I don't go after people just having a random shit fit about wanting to kill someone. I am damn sure about the people I kill. I see them thinking about the lives they took, the people they hurt. It's not a passing thought, it's their reality."

"How can you be sure you've never made a mistake?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. Was she fucking serious? "I don't make mistakes."

"Really? Are you 100% sure that everyone you've killed, with the exception of me, of course, was evil and incapable of change? They couldn't have gone in for counseling and come out a different person?" I nearly smiled at her snarky comment about the exception of her. She was so fucking adorable.

"I am 100% certain that the people I've killed all needed killing. I can't speak as to whether any of them could have been rehabilitated but it's doubtful. Once a person has given themselves over to the dark it's hard to go back into the light."

She smiled triumphantly. "But that's not true, Edward. People change all the time."

"People have to want to change, Bella. Few of them actually do." God she was a pain. A cute, sexy, sweet pain in my ass.

"But still, you don't know if any of the people you killed could have been one of those people, given time and counseling."

I chuckled. "And we come back to that again. How, exactly, would you recommend that I get the people counseling?"

"You're a vampire; you could scare them into going."

She was so fucking hilarious I couldn't stand it. "Bella, you're adorable, really. You're so refreshingly kind that you can't comprehend that most of the people in the world are nothing like you."

"Don't make fun of me, Edward." She was frowning and crossing her arms again. Which made her breasts rise up again, which made my dick get hard again…damn it, there was a pattern here.

"I'm not making fun of you. I'm trying to tell you the world is not black and white. There are many shades of gray, some way darker than you can even comprehend."

"And some even lighter than you can comprehend," she pointed out with a satisfied smile.

"I think we'll have to agree to disagree on that one, Bella. I've saved way more lives than I've taken and I am pretty proud of the fact that I choose to kill the people who are unworthy to walk this earth. No other vampire that I've run across is nearly as discriminating as I am. You should be proud of me instead of judging me."

She raised an eyebrow. "I'll give you this much, I'm glad that you go after the people you consider to be bad. I don't agree that you should be the judge of that, but if you're going to kill people, then I'd rather you kill that kind."

"Thank you, it's about fucking time!"

She smiled sweetly. "That doesn't mean that this conversation isn't coming up again or that I'm going to give up on you joining me in my diet." I fucking groaned at that. I'd be hearing about this shit for years, wouldn't I? Unless I wore her down and got her to give into the bloodlust. It would be fucking hot when she did. And she was foolish if she thought it would be easy for her to live her special lifestyle.

"We'll just have to see, won't we?" She smiled confidently and I rolled my eyes. "Speaking of your ridiculous diet, do you want any of this blood that I worked so hard to get or are you satisfied with that which you licked off my delectable body?" Fuck, just thinking about that got me hard again. I wanted to get her naked and roll her around in some blood and lick it off her, work my way up her body until I was inside her, fucking and sucking on her at the same time. I was going to make that fantasy a reality if it fucking killed me all over again.

She growled at the mention of her attacking me and I laughed. "No, I seem to be satisfied right now," she said. I was glad one of us fucking was. My dick was going to fucking fall off if I didn't get some action from her soon.

"Edward, where did you get the blood?" She eyed me suspiciously, as if I was going to give her more from the bitch I drained earlier.

"I got it at the NYU Med Center," I told her, trying to keep the sarcasm out of my tone but sort of failing miserably. She was so fucking distrustful. What had I done to earn that? _Well, you turned her into a vampire without her permission, you got her kill a guy she knows and then you came home covered in blood so she'd tackle and hopefully fuck you. Failed there, didn't you big guy? _Fuck, I thought that mouthy mother fucker had been silenced and there he was again. I was going to perform a lobotomy on myself if that judgmental prick disguised as my inner voice didn't shut the fuck up.

"Good, how did you get it?" I sighed; she would want to know that. Then again, maybe I should tell her.

"I flirted with a nurse and she got it for me," I said with a winning grin.

She rolled her eyes. "Of course you did."

I chuckled, delighted at her reaction. "Well, to be honest, she reminded me a lot of you."

She frowned at that. Good. "How so?"

"Brown hair, brown eyes, didn't think a lot of herself, totally into me…" she snorted at the last. "What, you know you are; you admitted as much. Anyway, she was flattered by my attention but suspicious that I was just toying with her to get the blood I needed. Sound familiar? You thought I was making fun of you when I followed you and told you I was interested in getting to know you better."

"You were lying to me so you could get me back here to kill me," she glared.

"That's true, but I also was not lying in that I was interested in getting to know you better. And the more I got to know, the more I liked and then I couldn't kill you."

"So you flirted with this poor girl and got her to get you blood and then what?" Bella shook her head. "Said thanks, see ya? Or did you kill her too?"

I was slightly insulted by the question. "I most certainly did not kill her. She was a nice girl. She only undressed me in her mind once. Most of her thoughts were quite sweet. She wanted to go out to dinner with me on a yacht and have me propose to her wearing a tuxedo. It was a refreshing change from the usual sexually depraved thoughts that involve me. Though, if you wanted to share some sexually depraved thoughts you're harboring about me, I'll be more than happy to listen and then enact them with you." I waggled my eyebrows at her and she smacked my arm, sending a resounding thwack through the kitchen.

Fuck, that almost hurt. "What?"

"So you left that poor girl dreaming of all the romantic times she could have with you?"

"What's wrong with that? I'm going to send her flowers in the morning, to thank her."

"That's not enough, Edward! If she's really like me…" she broke off and sighed.

"What?" Fuck, why couldn't I read her damn mind? Probably because her mind was so fucking convoluted and she made no sense to herself so how could I make any sense of the nonsense up there?

"Then she has major self esteem issues, right?" Isn't that what I fucking said? Maybe not in so many words but I thought I was pretty damn clear.

"Yes, she couldn't believe I could ever be interested in someone like her."

"Well then, you only reinforce that by disappearing after she gave you what you wanted. She'll beat herself up over it for days and will have major issues ever opening up to a guy again. Trust me on that."

I glared, annoyed by her words. "Who fucking hurt you?" I demanded, more than ready to go kill any mother fucker that made my Bella feel unworthy.

Her eyes flickered and then a mask slipped over her face. "Nobody worth talking about."

"That's bullshit, Bella, who hurt you?" Tell me so I can do to him all the things I didn't get to do with the stalker cockblocker.

"Edward, it was a long time ago and it doesn't matter."

"Like hell it doesn't. You're the one who just told me that shit that happened to me almost a century ago was still relevant and we both know you haven't had decades to get over whoever hurt you. Now tell me!" I wanted to pound on the asshole that dared hurt her.

"It's not important right now, Edward. I will tell you, someday." Yeah, after the mother fucker is already dead. I knew she was protecting the prick. I'd get it out of her a lot sooner than that; mark my fucking words.

"Alright, Bella, we'll discuss it another time." Like in a day or two.

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay. Now, I really think you need to do something about this girl."

Christ. "Like what?"

"Well, what did you tell her to get the blood?"

"That I needed it for my hematology test and that if I failed I was going to get kicked out of school and sent back to Chicago."

She smiled. "Well good, this won't be that complicated then."

"What won't be?"

"You can take her out one date and tell her that you failed your test and have to leave. That way she won't think you're dumping her because you're not interested." What the fuck did she just say? I gaped at her for a minute or two before I could form the words to ask her.

"What the fuck do you mean; take her out on a date?"

"Just what I said. If she has self esteem issues, you need to build her up a little. Let her have her dream date with the handsome guy that she thinks she can never have. Take her out, flatter her, make her feel like she's beautiful, like you did me. Then, instead of killing her, tell her you have to leave. She wouldn't believe you if you told her that without the date but if you take the time to take her out before you go she'll think it's because you did legitimately like her."

"You want me to go out with her?" What the fuck, was she serious? She had to be fucking with me. The look on her face, though, was not joking. Jesus Christ.

"Yes, one date. Call her at the hospital and ask her out for…what day is it?"

"Tuesday."

"Friday night then. You take your test on Wednesday and find out you failed on Thursday. You have to head home on Saturday or Sunday. It works perfectly."

Holy shit. She really wanted me to do this. "Why the fuck do you care about some girl you've never met?"

She frowned. "I've been that girl, Edward. The girl who would do anything for the handsome guy and then finds out he's using her. I'm not going to let you hurt her at my expense. You got the blood from her for me so the least you could do is go out with her for me." That fucking logic astounded me.

"So, let me get this straight. You are actually telling me to take another girl out on a date? You don't care?" That was fucking irritating. She shouldn't want me to be with other women.

"Well, of course not. I know you don't actually want her but she doesn't know that and if you do it right, she'll never know that. It sounds like she could use a self esteem boost. Will you do it, Edward? For me?" Christ, she was looking at me with those pretty red eyes, pleading with me. How in the hell had I ended up with a do-gooder? Where was the bad girl that should be at my side? Fuck.

She threw in an actual fucking lip bite for good measure. She was going to kill me, she really fucking was. "Fine," I bit off, irritated that I was giving into her once again.

Her whole face lit with a smile and I had to fight the urge to kiss her again. She leapt into my arms and gave me a bone crushing hug. "Thank you, Edward. I know that there's good in you." Well hell, if she was going to hug me every time I did something with another girl I could surely accommodate her. What would my reward be for fucking another chick?

I squeezed her back. "Are you sure it doesn't bother you at all?"

"Of course it doesn't, why would it?" She smiled up at me and I narrowed my eyes, irritated all over again. I'd cut off my dick before I suggested that she go out with another guy and here she was happy as a clam that I was going to take another girl out on a date. Something was just not fucking right about that.

Well, she might be okay with it now but I'd make damn sure she was not okay with it by the time I returned home from my date. A little fucking jealousy never hurt anyone, right? Bella wouldn't know what hit her by the time I got through with her.

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**A/N I dare say, has our boy started to show a little depth? Be still my beating heart! What's your idea of a dream date? **

**Voting is about to end for the Indies, if you haven't gone over and voted yet, do so. And if you so desire, you could even vote my story, Sacrificial Lamb. Seriously, The Indies are great and have brought me a bunch of new readers, so check them out, some great stories there. **

**The first two chapters of Taste are now up at Twilighted! The third is in the queue so hopefully I'll be all caught up there soon. Link is in profile. It's also at The Writer's Coffee Shop and my blog, so there are plenty of places to find me if the wolves descend!  
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**Speaking of the wolves, April 1st some friends and I are kicking off our writing competition: Silence of The Wolves! That's right, if you liked what I did to Jake in Chapter 2, why don't you off a wolf member yourself and get some great prizes for doing it? We're listed on under author Silence Of The Wolves and at www (dot) silenceofthewolves (dot) blogspot (com). I am a judge, oooh the power!!!, and I'd love to see some of my readers taking out some pesky mutts! Do your worst!**


	7. Chapter 7

Taste of Innocence Chapter 7

I'm the first to admit that I don't really know anything about taking a woman out on a date. I never really had to bother with all the trappings before, even when I was human. I'd meet one at a bar, talk her up, get her in bed and go on my merry fucking way. No harm, no foul. The one time I didn't hold to this standard, I ended up with a contrary newborn vampire who refused to do anything normal. I wasn't exactly anxious to deviate from my routine again but if I was going to teach Bella a lesson, I'd have to step outside of my comfort zone and become Mr. Perfect for a night. There was no doubt in my mind I could handle that shit.

"So you really don't give a damn if I take Angela out?" I asked again, disbelief still coloring my tone. I mean what the fuck? She said she wanted me, I hadn't imagined that or her reaction to me whenever I touched her.

Bella shook her head emphatically. "Of course not!" Then the smile slipped from her gorgeous little face. Good! She finally fucking gets it. Here we go, tell me you don't want me to spend a minute with another woman. You know it's true. "As long as you don't plan on doing to her what you did to me!" Well it wasn't quite what I wanted to hear but it was a start, I guess.

"Which part of what I did to you?" I asked, leering at her as I remembered the feel of that warm body moving underneath me.

"Biting her, killing her, making her into a vampire," she gripped both my forearms in her hands as she looked up at me imploringly. "Please don't do that to someone else, it isn't fair, Edward." Jesus fucking Christ, I ask for some jealousy and I get another lecture on my damn diet and the little fact that I didn't talk to her about turning her. Would I ever live this shit down? "You'll just take her out and then take her home, right?"

I glared at her. Who the fuck did she think I was? Hadn't we just had a discussion about the fact that I thought Angela was nice and that I didn't kill people who didn't deserve it? Did she pay a shred of attention to anything I said? Maybe I should turn Angela, bring her home with me and start my own little harem. Of course, Bella would undoubtedly fuck it up for me. She'd take Angela aside and convince her to join her on her stupid human blood strike and they'd both cockblock me. That would fucking suck and be just my luck. No thank you, one of them was more than enough.

"I thought I made it clear that I don't kill people without a reason, Bella," I told her through clenched teeth. "Did you fucking hear a word I just said?"

She held up a hand. "Yes, I did. Calm down; don't get your panties in a twist. I was just making sure. You didn't plan to keep me either yet here we are."

"And you're more than enough trouble on your own. I don't need two of you ganging up on me." Panties in a twist…fucking bullshit. I'd twist her panties when I yanked them off her body. She sure as fuck wouldn't be asking me to spend time with another woman if she'd let me put my hands on her again. And she wouldn't be ragging on me about my diet or anything else for that matter. A good romp would make both of us feel better, I knew it. But no, she had to try to change me. Why did women always try that bullshit? I'd heard many a human man bitch about it but this was my first go-round with the situation. I was perfect all on my own and didn't need to change, not even for her.

Before she could start bitching at me about something else, I took out my cell phone and dialed information to get the number to the NYU Med Center. I punched in the numbers and froze for a second. What the fuck was Angela's last name? I skimmed through my memory of the time with her and remembered in my proposal I called her Angela Weber. Bella watched me expressionlessly as I asked for Angela. I hoped she was still working; it had only been a couple hours since I left her.

"Hello," came a soft, tentative voice. Yeah, that was her.

"Angela? This is Jason, the guy from earlier," I made my own voice sound a bit unsure; it wouldn't do to sound too overconfident right now.

"Jason?" there was a note of alarm in tone. What the hell was that all about? "Listen, I can't get you anymore…they're already asking questions about what you wanted. I'm sorry but I gave you all I could."

Oh, she thought I was trying to use her again. Yeah, she did remind me of Bella, who at the moment was mouthing something at me. "I don't want any more blood, Angela. Thank you so much for what you…ow!" Bella kicked my shin. "Can you hang on for a second?" I didn't give her a chance to respond, placing my call on hold. "What the fuck was that for?" I demanded.

"I was trying to tell you that she thought you were going to ask her for more, that you wanted to use her again, but you figured it out yourself." Yes, I did because I was not a fucking moron. At least she had the decency to look a little chagrined.

"Last time I checked, I didn't have the IQ of a fucking snail so yes, I think I could figure that out for myself. Now can I finish asking the girl out or would you like to do it for me? I'm sure she'd find that quite charming, having my…whatever you are, propositioning her for me."

She had the audacity to roll her eyes at me. "Get back on the phone, you're making her wait too long," she hissed. Like it was my fucking fault the girl was on hold? I wasn't the one kicking people under the table. Jesus Christ, I needed a drink. Sadly that was not an option.

I scowled at her and pressed the button to release the hold. "Angela, I'm so sorry about that. My roommate is a total pest and wouldn't leave me alone." Bella huffed quietly next to me and I bit back a laugh. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," I got a glare at that one; "I wasn't calling to ask for more blood, though I do appreciate your help with that. You're a lifesaver, truly." My tone was warm and I put some of my natural sexiness into it as well. Bella nodded in satisfaction. She was so fucking weird. I'd take the phone away from her and destroy it before she could speak to a guy the way I was Angela.

"Oh, well you're welcome. You didn't have to call just to thank me. Really I was happy to help. I hope you do well on your test."

"You made it possible, Angela. I can't thank you enough." Bella kicked me again. What the fuck? I looked at her and this time I could read her lips, which I still wanted to kiss despite her sudden penchant for physical abuse. I was such a fucking masochist. _Don't make it sound like you're only asking her out because she helped you. _What was I, a pimply fifteen year old about to ask a girl to his first dance? Have a little fucking faith, woman.

"I'm going to be busy with school for the next couple of days but I was wondering if you'd like to go out on Friday night? I'd really like to see you again once my work is all done." There, that was smooth as fucking hell.

Bella shook her head at the same time that Angela responded, after a slight gasp. "Oh, you don't have to take me out to thank me, Jason. Really, you don't owe me anything." Bella shot me a look that clearly told me I was a fucking failure. What was wrong with these two? Maybe I should send them both to counseling to work on their self esteem. They were fucking ridiculous.

"Angela, I'm not asking you out because I have to, I'm asking because I want to." Was that fucking clear enough for either of them? Bella managed to look somewhat pleased but was her even less confident counterpart on the same page with her? Why were nice girls so fucking complicated?

"Really?" there was still doubt in her tone but at least I could detect a little bit of excitement in her breathlessness as well. That or she was going to fucking pass out from disbelief. That would be par for the course at this point.

I let out a gentle chuckle, not showing any of my irritation. I deserved a fucking Academy Award for that shit too. "Yes, really. You seem like a very sweet girl and I'd like to get to know you better." The sugar in my voice would have melted the coldest heart. This better fucking work or I'd just say fuck it to the whole thing. Why I was going along with it was beyond me. I glanced at Bella who was smiling at me and remembered why the hell I was doing it. Because she had some strange power over me that I didn't begin to understand. I was so fucking whipped.

"I'm not sure…"

"Are you off this weekend?" I interrupted her. Fuck this, I'd take control. That I knew I was good at.

"Well yes, but…"

"Where do you live? I'll pick you up on Friday at seven." I wasn't giving her a chance to say no. This was happening and Angela would love it. She stuttered out an address close to where she worked. "So, seven on Friday?"

"I guess…"

"Great, see you then. Goodbye, Angela." I shut my phone before she could say anymore and raised an eyebrow at Bella. "Well?" I was sure had about a billion fucking things to say about what I did wrong.

She let out a giggle. "Well, it could have gone better but you managed to get the date so I guess I can't judge you too harshly."

I rolled my eyes. "Listen, Bella, what the fuck is wrong with you? And her? I mean, why could she not wrap her head around the fact that I was asking her out?"

Bella stared at me like I was the dumbest motherfucker on the planet again. Really, I was getting more than a little tired of that fucking look. "Because, Edward, have you looked at yourself?" What the fuck kind of question was that? I looked at myself all the time. She knew this about me. So, I took a page from Bella's book and gave her the exact same look she'd just given me. She smacked me, yet again. "Okay, so clearly you have. Anyway, when a guy that looks like you pays attention to a girl that looks like us, we automatically assume it's because you want something." That was the stupidest shit that I had ever heard.

"But why? What the fuck is wrong in your heads that you don't think you're worthy of the attention of a good looking guy?"

She sighed. "Because good looking guys don't go for plain girls, Edward. They go for gorgeous girls, like Rose." Fuck, I needed to call in a self-help guru for Bella. What the hell did I know about pumping up a girl's ego? Shouldn't the fact that I was panting after her like a fucking lap dog clue her in to the fact that she was not plain?

"But Bella, you got my attention. And you're not fucking plain. You're beautiful and you were even before your change." I wasn't even lying, though I was more than capable of it. She'd captivated me from the moment I saw her and it was more than just her innocence. It was her luminous skin, her big brown eyes, the curve of her neck, her delectable blush…damn it, I was hard again.

"I got your attention because you wanted to eat me, Edward," her voice dripped sarcasm.

"Yes, I did, but in more ways than one," I gave her my sexiest smile and her eyes dropped to the table. "As you so astutely noticed, I could have any girl that I wanted. I didn't want anyone else. I wanted you." I paused and looked at her, wondering if I should say the rest and give her even more power. Then again, I was trying to pump her up a little, wasn't I? Fuck, why couldn't I be doing another kind of pumping entirely? She watched me expectantly. "I still do, despite the fact that you drive me insane. And don't tell me you don't know that shit either. You know the effect you have on me."

She shook her head in automatic denial and I caught her face in my hand. "You know, Bella." I didn't fucking understand it myself but we both knew she had me wrapped around her little finger. "I bought you all seven seasons of a show that I find insulting to our kind. I went and got you blood despite the fact that you should be drinking from humans right by my side, just like I imagined the entire time I was waiting for you to wake up. I asked a damn girl out because you told me to. What the fuck does that tell you?"

She bit her lip and glanced up at me out of lowered lashes. Fuck she was gorgeous. "That you want to get laid really badly." Holy shit, her brain was completely broken. This is why I couldn't read her. She was certifiable.

I let go of her chin and leaned across the table, my face an inch from hers. "Let's get something straight, Bella. If I want to get laid, I will get laid. I don't need you for that and I don't need to bend over backwards to be nice to you either. I could walk out that fucking door right now and have a girl naked in less than a minute. Would you like me to prove it?" I was royally pissed. Here I had basically given her a shitload of power and she threw it back at me and made it all go back to sex. Fuck that and fuck her too.

Her mouth opened and closed and she looked like a fish out of water. Good, she didn't know what to say. "Well?" I demanded, standing up and preparing to walk out the front door and prove myself. I didn't like the way it made me feel but fuck if I was going to have her throw my feelings back at me like that. She just gaped at me. Jesus Christ, could she do just one fucking thing that she was supposed to?

I took a step toward the door and her hand reached out and caught me. "What?" I asked, not turning to face her, just letting myself feel the pulsing energy between her hand and mine.

"No, I don't want you to go out and find a girl to have sex with," she whispered softly. I stayed where I was and still didn't look at her. She was going to have to apologize or something. And since when did I care about pussy shit like apologies? I needed to do another ball check, clearly. I felt with my free hand and yes, they were still there, thankfully. Anymore of this acting like a pussy and they might detach and leave me forever though.

"You have to understand that I still don't get why you want me." Well that's because she didn't fucking listen. I'd more or less answered that question, at least as well I was able to since I didn't understand it myself. And frankly, I'd done all the comforting I was going to do for one night. "I can't just magically overcome years of self doubt in one day, Edward," she sounded tired and defeated. I didn't like that so I turned around. She was bent over the table, her shoulders slumped and her hair hiding her face from me. But still, she held on to my hand.

"I don't expect you to. That's the difference between you and me, Bella. I accept you for who you are, yet you won't do the same for me because I don't fit into the little moral box that you have sitting on top of your high horse." Fuck, where did that come from? It was pretty awesome, if I did say so myself.

She laughed then and looked up at me, her crimson eyes sparkling now. I liked her much better that way. "You may accept me for who I am but you do try to tempt me to your side."

I gave her an answering smile of my own and leaned toward her. "And I plan on continuing to do so. After all, that is the challenge, is it not?" That earned me an eye roll of my own but her lips still curled in a tiny smile.

"Yes, I suppose it is." The humor died out of her face but she didn't look upset anymore. "Edward, I wish I could say I'm sorry for trying to change you but I'm not. I really don't know that I could ever approve of what you do, even though I understand why you do it and even appreciate that you only kill people that you see as evil."

I sat back down and faced her, still holding her hand in mine. I wasn't going to let go of that connection until she made me. "I guess time will tell won't it? One, or both of us, is going to have to change somewhere down the line."

She grinned at me. "I'm betting it'll be you."

I laughed. "You should never bet against a mind reader, I always win."

She smiled wider. "But you can't read my mind."

"True, so fucking true." And so completely unfair. She giggled. "So, Bella, now that I've done your bidding, I'm going to need your help."

Her laughter died abruptly and she eyed me warily, pulling her hand from mine. "Help with what?"

"My date. You seem to identify with this girl for some reason, so if I were taking you out, where would you want to go?" She looked taken aback. What? Like she didn't expect me to ask? Plus, someday when she could be around people maybe I could give her a dream date. She deserved one, after all. I cared far more about pleasing her than I did Angela, sweet though she may be, she wasn't my Bella.

"You want me to help you plan your date?" Was I speaking fucking English? I thought I made myself perfectly clear the first time.

"This is your brilliant idea," I reminded her. "You seem to get this girl so tell me where I should take her."

She looked positively baffled. "I don't know."

"Well, where do you like to go when you're not buried in books?" How fucking hard was this? Surely the girl liked to have fun now and then.

She scowled at me. "I go to museums, sometimes. I like to read in the park. I like to get on the subway sometimes and just ride and write. People are so interesting!" Ha, they most certainly were not. "I like…" she broke off and suddenly she looked impossibly sad. I reached out to cup her face but she jerked away from my touch. What the fuck was wrong with her now?

"What the fuck did I do now?" I demanded, not quite able to turn on my verbal filter. Oh well, she was the one being moody as hell.

She glared over at me and I felt that damn stirring in my pants again. What a perverse motherfucker I was, getting turned on every time she got pissed at me. "It's not what you did now; it's what you did period." Well that certainly cleared things right the fuck up didn't it?

"Bella," I said in the nicest damn voice I could manage, "I've done a lot of things. Would you care to narrow it down for me?" I deserved a fucking medal for putting up with her constant mood swings. Could vampire women get periods? Was that was this was? Had I turned her at her wrong fucking time of the month and she'd be like this always? Holy shit, I was going to kill myself if that was the case. Or since I couldn't kill myself I'd have her decapitate me, she'd probably be more than willing.

"What does it matter what I like, Edward?" Oh fuck, she was yelling again. Seriously, I was going to have to buy some fucking aspirin or something. It probably wouldn't work but I was willing to choke it down anyway. "I obviously won't get to wander through the history or art museums anytime soon!" Her hands were flailing all over the fucking place; she looked like she was having a damn seizure. I briefly entertained the idea of stilling her but decided that would be the dumbest fucking that I could do. "I can't go to Central Park and curl up on a blanket with a good book! If I went there, I'd just try to eat everyone that passed by." Fuck, could she get any more overdramatic? Maybe I should buy her some damn acting lessons too.

"I'm going to be stuck inside forever while you run around the city enjoying yourself, interacting with people. The only person I get to see is you." And just what the fuck was wrong with that anyway? I was more than enough for most people, but of course Bella didn't appreciate me. Why her? Why me? What the fuck was going on in the universe that made me want her?

"Bella, you're being a bit overly dramatic." That was clearly the wrong fucking thing to say because the next thing I knew she kicked me in the shin and punched me in the face. The hell? I caught her fist when she cocked her arm to hit me again. "You know, for someone who claims to be so anti-violence you sure as fuck pack a mean punch." I rubbed my jaw with my free hand and watched the wrath slowly leave her face.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," she whispered, lowering her head down to the table. "I've never hit anyone in my life." I put my hand on her shoulder and gave her a little squeeze. And why the fuck was I doing that when I was the one getting beaten up? I was comforting my attacker. I had Stockholm Syndrome or whatever the fuck it was called. Jesus Christ, there was so much wrong with me that I didn't think a team of fucking shrinks could help me.

I pulled her out of her chair and led her into the living room, sitting on the couch and pulling her down next to me. All of a sudden she was as docile as a fucking kitten. Life with Bella was never going to get boring, that much was for damn sure. "Bella, listen to me." She looked up at me with a devastated face that made me want to promise her the world. Which, of course, I'd already fucking done and she hadn't seemed too keen on that either. There was no pleasing this woman, none.

"Newborns vampires are very volatile, as you can clearly see by the fact that you've discovered a sudden penchant for kicking and hitting me," she flinched and tried to pull out of my grasp but I kept my hands firm on her shoulders and implored her to look at me. "It won't always be like this. You'll learn to control your emotions and your thirst and then you'll be able to go to the park and read to your heart's content."

She smiled for a second but then her face fell. "I can't read in the park. The sun will hit me and I'll sparkle like a fairy princess. I think that someone might notice," she muttered sarcastically. Jesus, did she always have to look for the bad in every fucking little thing? What a pessimist.

"So you'll go on cloudy days. Fuck, you can take an umbrella with you and sit under that, I'll fucking hold it for you if it will make you happy. And you can certainly go to museums and anywhere else you want once your thirst is under control."

"I can?" her little lip quivered and I gave in the urge and pressed a light kiss to her lips. Sadly, she pulled away rather than lengthening the kiss. She was such a pain in the ass.

"Of course you can. We can do anything you want."

"But I have to wait a whole year?" It's not like a year was that long when you had eternity ahead of you.

"It's hard to say, it isn't an exact science. I guess the first time I come in covered with blood and you don't attack me, we'll know you might be ready to venture out." That would be a fucking sad day, let me tell you. Well not the Bella getting to go out part; that would be fabulous, I couldn't wait to show her the world. It would just suck when she didn't attack me anymore. Hopefully that day wouldn't come anytime soon. Or maybe by that time she'd stop being so damn stubborn and she'd attack me because she finally admitted that she wanted my fine ass. That would be even better.

"Now, will you stop sulking and help me plan a perfect evening for a nice girl that you insist that I take out when I could be here ravishing you for hours instead?" She groaned and shook her head. What the fuck ever, we both knew she wanted me to.

"You aren't going to come home covered in blood every time you go out, are you?" she asked, looking positively scandalized at the thought. Oh, how I'd love to but that would probably get old after awhile. Who the fuck was I kidding, that would never get old. Still, I'd ruin a lot of shirts that way and I wasn't a fan of destroying my wardrobe unless it was from Bella ripping it off me. Then I'd make an exception.

"Nah, I'll mix it up now and then. I can't have you anticipating it, can I?" What fun it would be. I was almost gleeful imagining her pinning me to the door the next time. Which would be fucking soon, let me tell you that. If that's all I was going to get, I was going to milk that shit for all it was worth.

"So more people die," she said morosely, turning her head away from me so I couldn't look into her lovely face.

"Yes, Bella, more people will die. People die every fucking second of the day. So what if I take out one every week or so?" Seriously, she was irritating the fuck out of me right about now. We'd had this conversation already. "I only kill…"

"The ones that are evil, yes I know. I won't rehash it with you now." Thank fucking God, the girl was showing some sense finally. "Now, you wanted to know what I would like to do on a date?" she asked.

"Yes." I was actually dying to know because some ridiculous part of me wanted to give it to her despite her being ornery as all hell.

"What did you say she imagined?"

"Me in a tux proposing to her on a yacht," I replied with a chuckle. It had been sweet compared to what I usually got.

"So she knows that you're rich?" Bella asked, scrunching up her face.

"No, actually I told her my parents took out a second mortgage to send me to school. I guess in her mind I was just that elegant and classy," I said with a grin. Bella giggled and shook her head.

"Yeah I'm sure that's it. Well that gets rid of the idea of a limo and fancy dinner I imagine."

"Well the limo probably. Since it's Jason's last night in New York, he might not be opposed to splurging on dinner or something."

"Maybe you should just take her on a picnic. Go to the park, put out a blanket, look at the stars…I'd love something like that." No shit she would, she was practically glowing at the thought of it and her eyes were twinkling with delight. I was going to give her that at some point; I swore it, minus the food part of course. And I'd save that for her. Angela was a nice girl but she wasn't worthy of my Bella's dream date. Central Park at night was going to be hers. Still, it gave me an idea.

I pulled out my cell phone and hit the speed dial. It was only 11 PM in Chicago, he should be up. And I didn't really give a damn if he wasn't. "Hello?" a gruff voice sounded in my ear.

"Jenks," I said, not bothering with niceties. He worked for me, after all.

"Mr. Cullen? It's quite a surprise to hear from you. Is anything wrong?" I loved the note of fear in his voice. Jenks was trained very fucking well, that was for sure. I wouldn't have it any other way.

"Nothing is wrong, Jenks, I need you to take care of something for me."

"Yes, sir, whatever you need." Damn right. Bella watched me with open curiosity and I gave her a killer smile.

"Friday night I need you to reserve the American Museum of Natural History for me. The Hayden Planetarium to be exact." Bella's jaw dropped open and a little "oh" of surprise popped out.

"What?" he spluttered.

"Did I fucking stutter, Jenks? I need you to reserve the planetarium on Friday night for a Jason Powell."

"How am I supposed to do that? It's a museum, Mr. Cullen. I wouldn't even know who to call…"

"Museums run off donations, do they not? Talk to whomever raises the cash and tell them that I will donate a million dollars, whatever it takes really, to have the planetarium for the evening. Money talks, Jenks, which you well know."

"Yes I know, sir, but…"

"But what? Do I or do I not pay you a fucking fortune to get things done for me?" Bella eyed me warily. I suppose I did sound like the monster I could be right now but it was what Jenks responded to.

"Yes, sir, you are more than generous in your…"

"Then get it done and call me tomorrow when everything is set."

"May I ask who this Jason is and what we're doing this for? It seems an awful lot of trouble for some…"

"No, you may not. Since when the fuck do you question anything I ask you to do? Do I need to look for someone more obedient, Jenks?" My voice was a low, threatening hiss that I knew from experience scared the piss out of him. I loved to wield it on the rare occasions that he attempted to challenge me. Needless to say, he didn't do that very often.

"No, sir, I'm very sorry. Of course it's your business. I'll make sure it gets done, I promise."

"See to it that you do. Call me first thing." I hung up my phone and smiled brightly at Bella, who was staring at me as if I'd grown another head. Fuck, I forgot. I called Jenks back and he answered the phone with a shaky voice. Ha!

"I forgot. Hire a chef to cater as well, someone famous. Tell them to prepare something light for a picnic type evening." I waited for Jenks to argue with me again.

"Yes, sir, I'll see to it."

"I'm glad to hear it, have a lovely evening Jenks." He'd fucking learned, color me amazed. Bella was still gaping at me. "What?"

"You're going to rent out the American Museum of History for the night?"

I shrugged. "Why not? You like museums and stars and shit, I'm sure she will too. What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, it's incredible," she breathed. "I would love…" she broke off and shook her head. "Never mind." Ha, she'd love it. Well she'd get it too. Fuck, I could probably do that for her sooner rather than later if I could get her from point A to point B without having her attack someone. I'd have to think about that. Maybe I could donate a Cullen wing and they'd give me a fucking key. As I told Jenks, money talks and I had plenty of it. Of course, knowing Bella she'd get pissy because I took Angela there first, even though she was making me do it. Fuck…well I'd figure it out eventually.

"How are you going to explain all that to Angela though?" she asked.

"I'll tell her a family friend works there and did me a favor."

"And the famous chef?"

"Same thing. Do you really think she's going to question it overly much? Won't she be too busy being dazzled by my handsomeness and questioning how someone like me could be with someone like her to even notice? Isn't that what you would do?"

She scowled at me but couldn't deny what I said. And I didn't fucking know her. Ha. I knew her like the back of my own hand.

"So there you have it, I'll give her dinner under the stars. It shouldn't be too painful, except the eating portion of course."

"What do you do about that?" she asked curiously, tilting her head and studying me.

"Either I choke down the food and throw it all up later or I pretend to eat and hide it when they're not looking." The latter was the far more palatable option and I'd do my damndest to make it happen.

Bella looked disgusted at the mention of puking. Well, it was something she'd have to learn eventually. "Anyway, does that sound like a pretty good date?" I knew it was but I wanted to hear her say it.

"You know it is," she frowned and looked down at her hands folded in her lap.

"So, of course, the next question is how to end the evening." I bit my lip to keep from laughing when her head whipped up.

"What do you mean?" she asked in high pitched tone.

"Well, of course I'm wondering if I should kiss her or not? Some girls would be offended if I tried but other girls would be offended if I didn't. What do you think, Bella?" How I managed to be straight faced as I asked the question was beyond me. Damn I was talented.

She looked positively furious and of course my cock reacted to the sight before me. He clearly liked to be yelled at…maybe in another life I would have gotten off on being a submissive. Who the fuck knew?

"Well?" I reached out and ran my pointer finger over her beautiful cheek bone and traced along her jaw. The anger left her face and desire replaced it. "If I were to take you out on the night I just described, would you want me to kiss you?" I licked my lips and her pretty red eyes followed the movement of my tongue. I wondered idly if she'd lie to me because we both knew damn well she'd kiss me. I hadn't even taken her out and she'd kissed me and a hell of a lot more. But did she want Angela to kiss me? I didn't think so.

"Um, yes?" she answered, though it sounded more like a question.

"Yes, you would kiss me?" She nodded, her eyes looking a little glazed as I continued my caress of her face. I knew she felt that electricity everywhere that my finger touched.

"Well then, I guess I better kiss Angela, huh?" I watched as that expressive face of hers went from seduced to pissed off in less than a second. It was fascinating.

"You can't kiss her," she hissed. Oh this was sheer perfection.

"And why not? You just said you would want a kiss and Angela is exactly like you, so I have to, to be gentlemanly."

"You're not a fucking gentleman," she shouted, knocking my hand off her face. "You only think with your dick."

"That is clearly not true or we wouldn't be arguing about my date with another girl right now, we'd be fucking for days on end." Her eyes widened at my words and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Ah, you didn't realize that did you, Bella? We can go for days if we have the right stimulus. Wouldn't that be fun? Days and days of nothing but touching, kissing, fucking?"

She bit her lip and refused to answer me. "That's fine; maybe you'll experience it yourself sooner than you think." She scowled then. She was so fucking cute. This was fun. I finally had the upper hand.

"So, that's a definite yes to kissing but should that be all I do? I mean, this is the one and only chance that Angela is going to have with her knight in shining armor, surely she'd like a little more action. Should I maybe nibble on her ear? Her neck? Maybe she'll wear a dress and I could put my hand on her knee and run it along her inner thigh…" I demonstrated on Bella's jeans clad leg as she glared at me. "Of course if I did that she'd probably want more and it would be my duty as a gentleman not to leave her hanging. So then I'd have to remove her under…" I was cut off as Bella pushed off the couch and leaped on top of me, knocking me flat onto the cushions.

"What the…"

"Mine," she growled and her lips descended on my own. Holy fuck, it worked!

* * *

**A/N Well, well, has our boy finally gotten the upper hand? What say you? No corpse to cockblock them this time...I don't think. Hmm, time will tell!**

**Sorry this is a little late, I got caught up in a new one shot that I wrote last week and it caused the delay. It's an entry for the Sport of Love competition over at The Writer's Coffee Shop and it's up under my profile, called First & Ten. QBward...yum!**

**We've gotten our first entries for the Silence of The Wolves contest! Have you entered yet? I wanna see some blood, people, Smugward would adore you for it!**


	8. Chapter 8

Taste of Innocence Chapter 8

Her lips were on mine and her incredible tongue was licking me just like she had when I'd been covered in that abusive bitches' blood. I opened my lips and her tongue slipped inside, battling with mine for control. Fuck, this was one battle in which I'd willingly surrender. Her little hands moved up my chest, fisting in the V of the neck. She pulled and I heard my shirt shred under her touch. Holy fuck, she ripped my shirt right off me. Hottest thing ever.

She tore her lips from mine and started sucking on my throat. Jesus Christ, I could actually fucking feel my eyes rolling back in my head at the feel of her teeth scraping over my neck. "How do you like it?" she murmured as her teeth actually sank into my flesh. Fuck that felt good. She wasn't biting hard enough to break my skin but just the fact that she fucking could now…my dick was throbbing as I pushed it up against her tight little pussy.

"So good, Bella," I responded, my hands cupping her ass as I maneuvered her against me, giving us both the friction I desperately wanted. Her lips met mine again and her hands began tugging my hair none too gently. Fuck, Bella liked it rough. Was there ever a more perfect woman on this planet? And she was mine. This fucking proved it.

It sucked that we were on the couch, I could have used a hell of a lot more mobility but then again, I liked letting my virginal little Bella take control. Her hips were moving against mine of her own accord now and the rhythm was making my cock twitch anxiously. I wanted to be inside her more than I'd ever wanted anything in my entire existence.

I took my hands off her delectable ass and found those perky little breasts, cupping them and running my thumbs across her nipples, which pebbled beneath my t-shirt. Fuck, I loved her wearing my clothes. It was sexy as hell. Why had I bought her new clothes? She needed to be in my shit all the time. Or naked. That would be even fucking better. She moaned in response to my touch and her hands tightened in my hair. If she wasn't careful, I'd be fucking bald. I had a hard time caring about that at this particular moment though.

I was shirtless and it only seemed fair that Bella join me, so released her breasts and grabbed the fabric of my t-shirt and ripped it apart. She gasped but kept right on kissing me as I tossed the tattered material to floor and cupped those perfect breasts in my hands. It wasn't enough though; I had to taste her again. I'd be craving her taste ever since the first time I had it. I wanted this crazy woman more than blood and every damn thing I'd done since she woke up had been to get to this moment, with her on top of me making sexy noises as I kissed and touched her. This was all I would ever want. She was completely fucking right when she called me hers, I was. Irrevocably.

I broke our kiss and sat up, Bella still straddling my lap as I took her right breast in my mouth, sucking and biting none too gently on her nipple. She rubbed her pussy against me and moaned in approval as she kept pulling on my hair. I licked my way across her chest to her other nipple and took that in my mouth, my hands finding her waist as we rubbed against each other. Too fucking much of this and I just might come in my jeans, but it was hard to give a damn because she felt incredibly good. At least I would finally have some fucking release, though I needed to be inside her soon.

She tugged my hair again and then let go, reaching underneath my chin and pulling my face away from her gorgeous tits. What the fuck? I frowned at her; sure she was about to fucking cockblock me again. I couldn't take much more of this bullshit. "What?" I demanded hoarsely, my grip still tight on her tiny waist.

Her ruby eyes were glazed with pleasure. Fuck, why in the hell had she stopped me? I could give her unspeakable pleasure if she would only…"You are mine, right?" she asked, her voice a sexy purr that had my cock fucking throbbing in response.

"Yes, God yes, all yours," I swore, licking my lips and watching her eyes darken in response. How fucking hot was that? Her eyes were black now, rimmed in red. Damn she was sexy. And she was…"Mine. You're mine," I told her, a growl in my tone. I may belong to her but she also sure as fuck belonged to me too. I grabbed her hair and tilted her head back, exposing her throat to me so I could see the spot on her neck where I'd taken her and made it so. It was a perfect bite mark, nearly invisible to the human eye, but I could see and so could any other vampire that we encountered in our endless lifetimes. They would know she belonged to me. "Tell me," I demanded. I had to hear her say it.

She watched me with those impossibly dark eyes and I nearly let out a roar of frustration waiting for her to respond. Her hand released my chin and she placed it on her neck, unerringly finding the mark where I'd taken her. "Yours," she whispered, rubbing her scar. She reached down and took my hand and placed it beneath hers on her throat. "I don't understand it but somehow I am yours." I yanked her lips back to mine at her words, I had to kiss her. I couldn't believe she finally fucking admitted it. I was going to send Angela a truckload of flowers for making this possible.

She matched my enthusiasm, her lips pressed firmly to mine. I actually felt a laugh bubbling up inside me, some ridiculous happy laugh like a fucking chick would have. She was turning me into a woman but I didn't give a fuck. She was mine, just as she was always meant to be! Our hands remained pressed on her neck and I was wrong; this was the hottest fucking thing ever. The two of us touching the spot that made us forever one together.

I tore my lips from hers and looked into her cobalt eyes. "I have to have you, Bella. Please say that I can." She couldn't fucking deny me now, could she? Not after we'd both declared ourselves. I had never given myself to a woman like this and I wanted, no I needed, to make love to her. Yes, I was officially a fucking chick but I still had my balls and more importantly, my cock, and it needed to be buried in her pussy.

She smiled at me, a real smile the likes of which I'd never seen on her beautiful face before. She opened her mouth and I felt like my very existence was hanging on what she was about to say. I heard a ringing and felt buzzing in my back pocket. What the fuck? Who in the hell was calling me now? The smile faded from her face. "Who is that?" Like I fucking cared? I was going to hurl the phone into the wall as soon as I got it out of my pocket.

I pulled it out and prepared to just that but she stilled my hand. "It could be important, since they're calling this late."

I glanced at the caller ID. Fuck. This was not going to improve my chances of getting laid. "Who is it?"

"Nobody important." That was true. I was about to turn the phone off when she grabbed it from my hand.

"_Rose?"_ she shrieked. I was so fucked. Or so not fucked would be more accurate. She started to flip the phone open and I yanked it away from her.

"If you want me to answer, you have to be quiet." She frowned at me but nodded and started to climb off my lap but I stilled her. "You also have to stay right here." Because I was a masochist and needed to torture myself a bit longer. I am such a fucking idiot. She crossed her arms in front of her fantastic breasts which annoyed me but she did at least stay in my lap. I could practically hear my cock whimpering as I flipped open the phone. "Hello." Hmm, I didn't sound particularly fucking friendly, but who could blame me?

"Edward?" Wherever the fuck she was, it was loud and she sounded trashed. Fucking fabulous. Cockblocked by a drunk dial.

"Yes, Rose. What can I do for you?" See, I could be polite. I wanted to yell at her to lose my fucking number but I knew that would piss Bella off even more than her friend drunk dialing me in the middle of the night.

She giggled. "That's a loaded question. I can think of many things you could do for me." Bella glared and a slight growl sounded from her throat. I removed my hand from her waist and put it over her mouth in silent warning. I felt something wet swipe across my hand…she fucking licked me. Of course it was my fucking hand instead of somewhere far more interesting.

"Rose, now is really not a good time." That was the understatement of the century.

"Why? Are you with another girl? You've forgotten me already?" I could actually hear the pout in her tone as she attempted to flirt with me. Bella rolled her eyes and said something that was muffled by my hand. She shook her head at me and I moved my hand and mouthed "what?" at her.

"Don't say you're with a girl," she hissed, motioning at me to continue with my call. The girl was really fucking annoying about making me talk to other girls on the phone. What the fuck was her issue? Damn it, I had to answer Rose.

"Of course not," I replied smoothly, raising an eyebrow at Bella who smiled at me. She was so fucking weird. Still, as long as she was happy that I was talking to Rose, I still might get laid in this century. So I'd talk to Rose all she wanted. "What are you doing out so late on a school night?"

"I'm drinking to my dearly departed friend, Bella." My jaw dropped open and Bella flinched at her words. I caught her around the waist again to keep her from falling off my lap.

"What do you mean, dearly departed?" I couldn't help it, my tone was pretty harsh. Had they fucking found Jacob already? That fucking stalker had been nothing but trouble and I swear that if there was an afterlife I'd find that fucker and kill him all over again.

"She ran off with that halfwit, Jacob Black, without a word to any of her friends. She's dead to me now," Rose announced, anger and hurt coming through her slurred voice. Bella opened her mouth and I quickly slipped my hand back over it in a silent reminder that she couldn't speak now. She was royally pissed, I could tell. I looked down at my lap and said a silent goodbye to my cock; I wouldn't need him for quite some time apparently.

How the fuck did I fix this? I couldn't, naturally. My plan had worked to perfection but now I was faced with the aftermath and it fucking sucked. "You don't know that for sure, do you?"

"The cops found his hideous truck at the airport and they think he bought two plane tickets out of the country. How could she just leave without saying goodbye? I would have understood. I mean, I would have tried to anyway. I might have asked her why she was running off with a loser like Jacob but I get that she doesn't have a lot of options. It doesn't surprise me that she took off with the first guy who showed an interest." Now it was me who was growling softly as Bella whimpered at Rose's words. What a fucking bitch. Granted she was accurate in her assessment of Jacob but how could she speak of her friend that way?

Bella was far superior to Rose in every way. I wanted to tell her that but didn't see quite how I could without giving myself away. As far as Rose knew, I barely knew Bella. I looked at that lovely girl in my arms, her eyes incredibly sad and I wanted nothing more than to hang up on Rose and whisk Bella away somewhere that would make her smile, like to the park to see her beloved stars at night.

I had to do something for her. "How can you talk about your friend like that?"

"How could she leave me like that?" Rose countered, letting out a very unladylike hiccup after she finished speaking.

"Maybe she didn't have a choice." Fuck, what did I just say? Great, Edward, why don't you stir up some shit so the cops will keep on investigating you dumb motherfucker. Bella was causing me to lose major IQ points…probably due to lack of sex. I was too preoccupied with her to actually think before I spoke. Moron. Bella's eyed me with interest, clearly wondering if Rose's drunk ass would register my giant fuck up.

"She never had a choice, Eddie." What the fuck did she just call me? Nobody and I mean nobody called me Eddie. "Bella's one of those girls, you know? A nice girl." She made it sound like a disease. "Guys don't notice her. I mean did you?" I most certainly the fuck did. Bella was struggling to get off my lap and I didn't want to release her. I pulled her against my chest and sighed as I felt her breasts press against me. She burrowed her head into my neck. I needed to get the fuck off the phone.

"Yes, I noticed her." I couldn't exactly explain why or how I did but I damn well wasn't going to let Rose think that she had my attention that night. She was dead to me as soon as I laid eyes on Bella.

She giggled. She fucking giggled. "You don't have to be polite, Eddie. I know who you wanted that night." I ran my fingers up and down Bella's bare back as I thought about the best way to inform Rose that I wanted nothing to do with her. I didn't want to piss Bella off, but really, would I at this point? Her friend was crapping all over her.

"You know nothing about what I want Rose." Truer words were never fucking spoken. If she thought I would prefer a slut like her to an angel like my Bella she was dead wrong.

"Oh but I'd like to," she purred. Had I really toyed with fucking this bitch at any point? She was irritating as hell.

"Where's that other friend of yours, Alice?" I asked, seeking to change the subject. I didn't need Bella thinking about the fact that her supposed friend wanted to fuck me.

"Alice? She's out putting up more flyers. She doesn't believe that Bella left. She has a feeling, whatever the hell that means." That meant that Bella at least had one fucking person who cared for her. I stroked her hair as she let out a little gasp against my neck.

"It sounds like she's a good friend." I knew Rose was too fucking sloshed to notice that I was putting her down but I figured Bella would pick up on it. Her lips pressed against my collar bone and I smiled. She did notice and she was thanking me in her own little way. I had to give her something more.

"What about Bella's father?" Her head flew up and she stared at me with wide crimson eyes.

"Charlie? Poor deluded fool. He doesn't believe that she ran off with a guy. He said that she's way too considerate to do something like that. Whatever. Father's are always the last to know." I watched Bella, who positively glowed when she heard that her father had not given up on her. Had she really doubted that? I wasn't sorry for taking her but I wish there was some way I could have let her contact him. I'd figure it out, I had promised after all. "He's going back to that godforsaken little town they're from in a couple days, but he's not going to stop looking." He wouldn't either; he'd make sure the NYPD didn't forget the name Bella Swan.

"He loves his daughter," I said, looking right into Bella's eyes, hoping she heard what I was trying to convey.

"Yeah, sure. Why are we talking about her anyway? I want to talk about us." Us, there was never going to be a fucking us. In fact, if she kept insulting Bella, there might not be a Rose any longer.

"Can you hang on a second?" I didn't give her a chance to answer, covering the phone and addressing Bella. "Can I get off the fucking phone with her now? Is there anything more you need to know?"

She looked at me for a long moment and then shook her head slowly. Her curls moved with her head motion, trailing across her breasts. God, had it only been a couple minutes ago that my mouth had been on them? I should be buried inside her right now instead of talking to her former friend.

"Sorry, Rose, I'm going to have to go."

"But why, Eddie? Can't I come over? You could help take my mind off my lying friend." Rose punctuated her annoying words with a hiccup and a giggle.

That fucking did it. "No, Rose, you cannot come over. I don't want to see you ever again." There was a gasp of disbelief on the other end of the phone. "I met someone and she's…incredible." Bella smiled softly at my words. "She's smart and beautiful and sexy and she challenges me. She drives me nuts the majority of the time but for some inexplicable reason I like it. She's kind and caring. She'd never talk about a missing friend the way you did tonight. So, do me a favor, lose my number, because I assure you I will be losing yours." I closed the phone before she could say anything else and waited to see what Bella might have to say about what had transpired.

She didn't say anything; she just leaned forward and pressed her perfect lips to mine. Holy shit, had I actually done something right? I started to respond to the kiss but she pulled back quickly. "Thank you for that, Edward." She looked almost bashful in that moment, despite being half naked and sitting on my lap.

"There's nothing to thank me for, Bella. I told her the truth. That bitch wasn't worthy of being your friend."

She frowned. "That's just Rose. She doesn't do well with emotion and she probably really does believe I ran off with Jacob." I growled at the very thought of that. What if that stalker fuck had absconded with her before we even met? I couldn't imagine my life without her now and it had only been a matter of days. This was such a fucked up situation.

"Maybe so, but she shouldn't be out getting drunk and hitting on guys she barely knows." I was affronted on Bella's behalf. Why didn't she care more? And why the fuck did I care when I had a half naked Bella within arms reach? I am such a fucking chick now.

Bella smiled sadly and shook her head. "Life goes on Edward. They'll all move on and eventually forget all about me." Her voice broke a little on the last word and I swear my heart broke along with her. What had I done to this girl? _Well, shithead, you turned her without a thought to what she might want, what she'd be leaving behind. Did you expect her to be elated? _Fuck, I thought I silenced that motherfucker but there he was again, louder than before. The scary thing was that I was starting to agree with the nuisance.

I brushed her hair back from her face. "Nobody could forget you, Bella. Not even a superficial bitch like Rose. You're clearly on her mind, even if she's pissed at you right now. And Alice and your father know you would never run off without contacting them." I wasn't saying a word about her selfish mother, that bitch was probably too busy fucking her boy toy to spare a thought for her missing daughter.

She smiled and this time it reached her eyes. "Thanks, Edward. You can be nice when you want to be." I rolled my eyes but smiled back at her. Nice was not exactly an adjective that I would use to describe myself but I wasn't about to dispel the idea either. Whatever worked to get me into her heart was fine by me. Wait. What the fuck did I just think? _Heart?_ No, I meant her pants. Edward Cullen doesn't do hearts.

Bella shifted off my lap and this time I let her go. I knew Rose's untimely interruption had served as yet another cockblock. It was clear that the entire universe was out to make sure that I didn't get to fuck Bella. She walked over to the bags I'd left by the front door when she'd attacked me earlier. And just thinking about that woke up my cock yet again. Fuck, I was going to have to jerk off at the rate we were going. I hadn't bothered to do that since I was human.

"Is this all for me?" Well, who the fuck else was I going to buy clothes for?

"Yes." She pawed through the bags and pulled out the red cashmere sweater. Then she opened another bag and smirked over at me. My cock twitched at the sexy look on her face as she reached in and brought out a handful of bras and panties.

"Did you buy out the store?" she asked, looking skeptically at the packages. "Why would you get me all this? All I needed were a few shirts and jeans." As if I was going to let my girl want for anything. She put on the red satin bra and frowned down at it. "How did you know my size?" She pulled the sweater on and I let out a low growl at how fucking stunning she was. The red sweater was cut low enough to show a little cleavage and the bra underneath made her breasts look even fuller and perkier.

I got up from the couch and walked over to her. She eyed me warily and bit on that full bottom lip. Damn, she was hot. I traced her cheekbone and marveled at the fact that she was mine. She'd admitted it. "I've spent a lifetime thinking about your body over the past few days," I purred and watched as her crimson eyes went black at my words. I backed her up against the front door just as she'd done to me a couple hours ago. "I memorized everything about you, Bella." Her eyes fluttered closed as I pressed a kiss just below her left ear. "I know exactly what you feel like." My fingers traced over her jaw now and she tilted her head to accommodate me. "I know exactly what you smell like." I buried my nose in her hair as she shuddered against me. "I know exactly what you taste like." My lips met hers in the most chaste kiss I could manage despite the fact that I had a raging hard on. She whimpered and her eyes fluttered open as I pulled back, not that I went very far.

"What are you doing to me?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

I kissed her neck and smiled as I answered. "Tempting you. Is it working?" She nodded mutely as I peppered little kisses over her neck. "Good."

"Edward, we can't" she breathed as her hands crept into my hair. I laughed at her words warring with her body's response to me.

"We can do anything we want, Bella. Haven't I told you that already?" My hands slid down to her tiny waist as I pressed my body flush to hers. "So, what do you want, Bella?" As if I didn't know the answer to that particular question.

"I want you," she responded and I nearly fucking came from hearing her say that alone. "But…" Oh mother of fuck, what now?

I pulled back and glared at her. "What? We just admitted that we belonged to one another did we not?" She nodded mutely. "So what's the fucking problem?" I couldn't be a gentleman about this bullshit. I had her back in the mood and now she was throwing up the cockblock again.

Her little hands came up and she framed my face in her hands. I actually jolted at the electric feel of her touch. If she hadn't just cockblocked me for the billionth time I would probably be celebrating the fact that she was actually touching me of her own volition. And that just made me a fucking pussy from hell right there. Celebrating a chick's hands on my face for Christ's sakes. I'm pathetic.

"But," she said again which made me want to roar with anger. Her thumb traced my cheek just as I had done to her moments ago and I was fucking powerless to yell at her or walk away. She was a witch; there was no doubt about it. "I want to know you, Edward. I barely know anything about you. And as you've pointed out, we have all the time in the world, so why rush into bed?" Was she fucking serious?

"We have all the time in the world for you to get to know me," I pointed out, my tone filled with disbelief. "You've already slept with me so what's the fucking problem?"

"And look where that got me!" she said, an edge creeping into her words. I sighed. Were we really going to rehash the same old shit yet again? Eternity was a long time to hear the same shit over and over. "Edward," she spoke more softly this time. "If we just get caught up in sex, we won't really be figuring out what this is." She gestured between us. "I want to know why I want you, beyond the obvious." What the fuck was wrong with the obvious? It worked just fine for me. I was hot, she was hot, together we'd be molten hot, what more was there to analyze?

I growled and pushed away from her. Her witch voodoo electricity did not need to be distracting me now. Who gave a damn what the pull between us was? It was there and we should do something about it instead of talking it to death. I whirled around to tell her that and the words died in my throat at the picture she made, standing against the door, her long brown hair draped over her shoulders. The red sweater was perfect with her coloring, as I'd known it would be and her eyes matched it perfectly. She was fucking stunning and I was fucking whipped.

"What do you want to know?" Had I really just fucking asked that? Of course I had. She had me under her spell and I was no better than a school boy with a fucking crush. Perhaps I could carry her books to her next class. Of course I'd promised the equivalent of that earlier when I told her I would hold an umbrella for her so she could sit in the sun. Fucking pansy.

Her face lit up in excitement and I stifled a groan at my dicks' reaction to her beauty. "Everything. You've lived for over a hundred years, right?"

"Technically," I muttered dryly. Living was the operative word.

She laughed and pushed away from the door, taking my hand in hers and leading me over to the couch. And of course I followed along like the biddable puppy dog I was around her. I might have to do something to draw out the Volturi, death would probably be better than being Bella's lap dog. She tugged me down on the couch and climbed sideways into my lap. Okay, maybe death was not better than this. I rested my cheek against her shoulder and rubbed it over that incredibly soft material. If she had to be covered, at least she was covered in something that felt good. Not as good as her bare skin had but I didn't need to start thinking about that again. It was difficult enough not to get hard with her on top of me like this.

"So tell me about everything you've seen over the years. What do you do besides kill people? Have you met anyone famous?" Her eyes got really wide. "Have you killed anyone famous?" I chuckled and shook my head. Even when she was annoying as fuck she was still adorable. She actually looked a bit disappointed by the fact that I hadn't killed anyone famous. I could rectify that if she wished. "What era was your favorite? What music?" Then her face lit in a huge smile. "What books?" Ahh, her beloved books. I was going to have to see to it that she had as many as her heart desired. My little bookworm.

"You're just full of questions, aren't you?" I wasn't irritated anymore, mainly because she seemed so sincere in wanting to know me. I don't know if anybody actually knew the real me. Surprisingly, I wanted to know the real her as well. I hadn't been lying when I listed her virtues to Rose and I wanted to know what else was hiding in that silent mind of hers. Clearly she'd been doing a lot of thinking. "I'll answer all your questions if you'll answer something for me first."

She leaned her head back against my shoulder and peered up at me from her impossibly long lashes. "What?"

"If Rose hadn't called and interrupted us earlier, would you have slept with me?" I had to fucking know because I was sure the answer was one I wanted to hear. Or did I? I was just being more of a masochist clearly.

She steadied me for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Yes." I knew it. Rose needed to die.

* * *

**A/N I know! I know! Some of you want to kill me right about now and I don't blame you! I nearly gave in and let them do the deed but my beta reminded me that I do actually have a plan here and deviating from script would not be the wisest form of action. I'm as frustrated as Smugward is, though. Well...nearly. We'll get there, I swear!**

**It's been awhile since anyone killed a wolf for me and I'm a little upset about that. Go to www(dot)silenceofthewolves(dot)blogspot(dot)com for details. Do it in honor of Jacob's cockblocking corpse!**

**Good news, SL is officially done and will be complete as of tomorrow. Right now I'll continue to plan two week updates but maybe I'll be faster if Smugward keeps talking (and we know he will, he wants to get laid after all).**


	9. Chapter 9

Taste of Innocence Chapter 9

Bella and I spent the next two days talking. Well, okay, maybe a little more than talking whenever I could get away with it. I may have tried to feel her up a time or a thousand. But she didn't seem to mind overly much and even initiated contact with me a few times. Yeah, I was sporting a permanent fucking hard on for two solid days but I almost didn't care because I was so caught up in what she was saying. I was completely whipped but fortunately nobody was there to see it but Bella and she seemed pretty fucking clueless about it. She knew I wanted her but she didn't know just how completely she had me wrapped around her tiny fucking finger, no matter how many times I slipped and let her know it. One day she might realize what an incredible woman she was and then God help me.

Bella giggled as she told me some story about her feckless mother nearly burning down their house when she attempted to throw a completely frozen chicken into a fryer. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, because honestly every word she told me about her mother made me want to fly to Jacksonville and snap her fucking neck. Or actually, I'd like to drain her without snapping her neck, let her feel my venom start to burn through her veins and then kill her before she could start to change. She could have killed my Bella a billion times growing up, never giving me the chance to meet her and make her mine. She should pay for that. But I could never kill Bella's selfish mother because she lit up when she talked about her and it was a beautiful sight. And her laughter made me feel warm inside for some unfathomable fucking reason. I didn't tell Bella that either, though, for fear that she would realize I was becoming a chick and leave my ass before I got a chance to fuck her again. And rest assured I would be fucking her soon.

I knew the entire world was conspiring to keep me from fucking her, but it was going to happen. She was doing all those little things that girls did when they wanted to fuck a guy. She'd touch my hand, almost shyly, while looking at me through those super long eyelashes of hers. I knew if she had blood flowing through her veins she would have been blushing. She'd brush my hair back out of my face whenever it fell into my eyes. She'd lean her head on my shoulder and run her fingers up my arm, which just sent jolts of electricity through my body and straight to my fucking cock. But I resisted, boys and girls. Yes, I really fucking did. I mean I'd kiss her head or her cute little fingers or wrap my arm around her waist, but I didn't go for the fucking gold. Alright, so I copped a feel a time or two but I didn't push her.

And she kissed me a few times all on her own. Okay, maybe this was after she pressed me to talk about my fucking family and she heard something in my tone. I didn't tell her a lot about those days but I told her enough that she knew that I was nothing but a nuisance to my parents. They worried more about their standing than what I was up to, unless of course it reflected poorly on them, like that time I fucked the preacher's daughter on the second floor of the church during mass. I didn't see what the fucking problem was; she kept yelling "Oh God". If anything, it added to her father's sermon. I didn't share that story with Bella though; somehow I didn't think she'd appreciate it. That did, however, get dear old Daddy's attention. It was a good thing my asshole grandfather was dead by then though or I would have gotten an epic caning I'm sure. I thrilled at the thought of that fucker rotting in hell while I walked this earth eternally.

Bella started to launch into another fucking story but I had to stop her. "Bella, I have to go get ready."

She blinked at me in surprise. "Is it Friday already?"

I rather fucking loved that she had completely lost track of time while talking to me. "Yes, it is, and if you still insist that I go on this charade of a date, then I better get ready." I really wanted her to tell me to forget the damn date and just stay with her where I belonged. Or, even fucking better, get all jealous and attack me again. I would give anything for that.

She shook her head emphatically, her curls bobbing with the motion. I caught one around my finger and tugged on it. I could do that now without getting my fucking head ripped off. Progress. I would take it. "No, you have to go. I'm sure she's been obsessing over it since you called her. To cancel now would just be cruel." I did roll my eyes that time. Bella didn't know the meaning of the word or just how cruel I could truly be. Canceling a date with a sweet girl didn't even make the list of fucked up shit I could do.

"Alright, then I have to take a shower and change." Not that I didn't look good already, but I figured I should put in a little effort if I was going to be Angela's Mr. Perfect tonight. Bella watched me impassively as I unfolded from the couch. I was still holding her hand and I didn't really want to let her go but I had to. I started to unwind my fingers from hers when hers clamped down on me. I raised an eyebrow but she just frowned and let me go. Ha, she didn't fucking want to! Good. I kept the smile off my face until I got upstairs and slipped out of my clothes and stepped into the shower.

I wondered if she was sitting on the couch thinking about me, dreading my leaving her tonight to go out with another girl. Even if it was her ridiculous suggestion, she had to fucking hate it, right? I would be smashing shit and probably forbid her to go. I know, that sounds totally fucking wrong but I'd be perfectly alright with her doing that to me. Of course, she couldn't do anything that made any fucking sense, now could she?

I washed my hair and body thoroughly, my mind more on Bella than on the tasks at hand. And that wasn't fucking good because when my mind was on Bella, my fucking cock responded. My soapy hand drifted down toward my poor, needy dick without me consciously thinking about it. I thought about how it felt when she pressed her soft lips to my neck and let out a soft groan. I ran my hand over my cock and pictured Bella when she was topless on my lap, grinding against me, completely innocent and yet erotic at the same time. My grip tightened as I remembered what it had felt like to be inside her. Fuck, I really needed to have her.

I felt my cock twitch in my palm and holy fuck, what was I doing? Edward Cullen does not jerk off. Not even when he has a cockblocking hot girl waiting for him in the living room. Fucking unacceptable. I tore my hand away from cock and groaned. I'd been about a minute away from release but I was going to wait until I was inside Bella. Or at the very least in her hand or her mouth. I got the hell out of the shower and dried my hair and body quickly, slinging a towel around my waist and stepping into the bedroom to find something to wear.

I froze in place when I saw Bella sitting on the bed, watching me with those guileless ruby eyes. I would give everything I owned to be able to hear whatever the fuck was going on in her incomprehensible mind. "What's up?" I asked, my voice a bit husky from my activity in the bathroom. I wonder if she heard me?

She looked down at her lap and then back up at me. "You're not going to kiss her, are you?"

I wondered if I said yes if she was going to attack me again. It might be worth the lie. But for some reason I couldn't look her in the face and not give her the truth. And I could lie to anyone, anytime and anywhere. Why did she have to render me honest? "No. Why do you care?"

Her eyes flashed with what possibly could have been anger. I could hear my dick start to whimper beneath the towel. If I wasn't careful he would probably detach from my body and just attack her. She didn't answer right away so I shrugged and grabbed a pair of black jeans. I smirked at her as I turned to face her and dropped my towel. Edward Junior was pointing at her like a fucking divining rod, horny bastard that he was. But of course, Bella being Bella, she didn't bat a fucking eyelash. I sighed and stepped into them, my cock painful as I tucked it inside and slid up the zipper.

I knew the answer; of course, I just wanted her to call me hers again and throw me down on the bed and ravage me. It seemed she was over that little phase though. Damn it. I grabbed a black t-shirt out of my drawer and pulled that on, then went into the closet and grabbed a blue button down. She remained still and silent on the bed, which was starting to irritate the fuck out of me. I decided to forget she was there as I began to primp in front of the mirror. My hair, as usual, was sticking up in all directions. I smoothed it down as best I could, no need for the sex hair tonight apparently. I rolled up my sleeves a little, letting my forearms show. It was going to be fairly cool so I would take my leather jacket with me, for appearance sake.

I grabbed a bottle of cologne and spritzed myself, totally unnecessarily as my natural scent was more than enough to please a woman but Bella was still watching me impassively and I wanted to get a rise out of her.

"What are you wearing that for?" she hissed. Ha, I knew that would piss her off.

"I am going on a date, I thought I'd put some effort into it," I responded coolly. I popped out my, er Jason's, blue contacts and slipped them into my eyes. Bella was watching me in the mirror so I kept my face completely neutral as I studied my reflection. Yeah, I looked damn good and it was making her angry. I supposed I should feel bad about that but she was so fucking hot when she was mad that I couldn't work up any sympathy. Plus, she'd cockblocked me hard a couple days ago and I wasn't exactly over that either. I turned from the mirror and sent her a winning smile. "How do I look?"

"Fine," she muttered, looking away from me for the first time since I'd walked out of the bathroom. Yeah, she couldn't lie worth a shit to me either. Good, we were finally on some even fucking ground.

"Well, I guess I'd better get going. My date awaits!" I sounded ridiculously cheerful but her sulking was a balm for my injured pride. "I guess I don't need to reiterate your need to stay…"

"Stay in and don't try to use the computer. Yeah I know." She sounded like a sullen child and I was torn between wanting to laugh at her or cuddle her.

"I'll see you later then." I started to head out the bedroom door and all of a sudden she was planted in front of me. "Yes?" Fuck I wanted to laugh at the mutinous expression on her gorgeous face.

"Don't kiss her," she growled and then her lips were on mine, devouring me. I pushed her against the doorframe and met her hunger with my own. Mutual frustration was there in both our lips. At least we were both hot and fucking bothered. It was a comfort, albeit a cold one.

I pulled back and looked at her, breasts heaving as she gulped in air. I pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. "I won't. I promise." She smiled at me then, a real smile that lit up her whole face. I didn't want to leave her but at least I had a good picture to keep in my head while I was with Angela.

I went down the stairs and made it to the front door. Just as I opened it I heard her say, "And don't kill her either." I chuckled and shut the door, making my way to the Volvo. This was going to be an interesting night, to say the least.

Jenks had come through on the museum and it only cost me a cool million. That was shocking; I thought it would require more. But the Cullen name had them creaming their panties apparently. It was good to have power. I stopped at a convenience store and grabbed a single pink rose to give to Angela. That was classy, I thought. I found her place easily enough and pulled up. I got out of the car and put on my leather jacket. After one last glance in the side mirror I made my way up to the walk and punched her doorbell. It was seven on the dot. Jason was nothing if not prompt.

_Oh my God, he's here. _I bit back a laugh at the disbelief in her mind. It fucking figured that she thought I wouldn't bother to show up. Hadn't she gotten the shitload of flowers I'd sent to her work? _You can handle this, Angela. He's only the most beautiful man on the planet. Nothing scary about that, right? He's only being polite. Just answer the door. _Well, she was correct about the looks but not about the scary part. Naïve little thing. No wonder she reminded me of Bella…well Bella before she changed and found a backbone. Angela probably wouldn't keep cockblocking me if she'd been the one I changed, biddable, sweet sort that she was. Why the fuck didn't I want that?

The door swung open and there she was. She was dressed pretty nicely, I guess, in a soft pink dress that fell to her knees. It was loose fitting and didn't exactly emphasize her curves, not that I had any interest in them anyway. Her long brown hair was clipped back with a clip on each side and she'd applied a little make up. She may not have believed I was going to show up but she'd at least put some effort into being ready for me just in case. I appreciated that.

"Hello, Angela." I used my sexiest voice and gave her my sweetest smile, amused by the contrast and the look of shock on her face. I handed her the rose and she took it, bringing it to her nose and breathing it in. Definite points for the rose. I hope Bella would reward me handsomely when I got home and recounted Angela's reaction to me.

"Hi, Jason," she stuttered, unable to take her eyes off me. It was actually pretty cute. Why couldn't I have this effect on the brunette I wanted? If I brought her a rose, she'd probably fucking throw it at me and accuse me of trying to get her into bed. Which, admittedly, I would be, but still; she didn't appreciate anything I tried to do for her. Why were women so fucking frustrating?

"Are you ready to get going?" I asked gently, not wanting to rush the poor girl when it looked like she was rooted in place. I wanted to get the night started so I could hurry up and get back home.

Angela jolted, as if awakened from a trance. "Sure, let me just put this in water and get my coat, okay?" I nodded and watched her walk off to her kitchen. I could hear her rooting around for a vase and filling it with water. She returned and opened her hall closet, taking out a long white linen coat. I took it from her and helped her on with it, silently congratulating myself on what a fucking prince I was being right about now. Single rose, check. Flawless manners, check. Dream date planned, check. Carlisle and Esme would probably be rolling over in their graves if they could see me now. She shivered as I brought her hair out from underneath the coat, brushing her neck lightly. _His hand is so cold. _Shit, I had to make sure not to touch her again. "Thank you," she murmured, so softly that a human could barely hear it.

"You're welcome. Shall we?" I gestured down to the Volvo. I briefly entertained the idea of offering her my arm but that seemed pretty fucking old fashioned. I didn't even do that shit when it was expected of me. I wasn't going to hold her hand, it just didn't seem right for some reason. _Bella wouldn't like it, you mean. _Shut up motherfucker, I am not listening to you.

We made our way down the stairs and I went to her side and opened the door for her. Prince Edward at your fucking service. Bella really better appreciate the shit I was doing because of her. Angela got in, once again thanking me quietly. That was going to get old really fucking fast. I closed her door and walked to mine, getting in and starting the car and pulling out to make my way to the museum.

_Where are we going? I don't want to ask him; that would be rude. I need to say something. I should talk. It's too quiet. I don't know how to talk to men, at least not men that look like him. Come on, Angela, it's not like you'll ever see him again, say something! _I took pity on her internal pep talk, if that's what that was supposed to fucking be. I was beginning to be glad that I couldn't hear Bella's mind. If I heard that constantly I would lose my damn mind more than I already fucking had.

"Do you like the American Museum of Natural History?" I asked, hoping to draw her out a little bit and make her more comfortable with me.

She looked at me nervously and licked her lips. "Um, sure. I haven't been in a long time. Why do you ask?"

"Because that's where we're going," I told her, maneuvering through traffic automatically.

_How? _"But it's closed."

I smiled at her reassuringly. "My family has a connection. We're going to have a picnic in the Planetarium. Does that sound okay to you?" She gaped at me, her mouth hanging open. It took everything I had not to laugh at her expression. _Okay? It sounds incredible. I must be dreaming. That's the only thing that makes sense. _I put my hand over my mouth and faked a cough as I did laugh out loud this time. I watched as she attempted to subtly pinch herself in the arm. If only this could be a dream, then I could be at home with my Bella. Although, I had to give Angela points, she was amusing me. At least she wasn't mentally fucking me yet. Plus, this was probably the closest I'd ever get into being in Bella's convoluted mind. I needed to take advantage of the opportunity if I could.

I pulled up in the parking lot and went around and helped Angela out again. "Thank you." Yeah, yeah, enough with the fucking thanks already. We made our way to the museum entrance where a very excited looking middle-aged, balding guy stood waiting. He was dressed in a hideous brown suit and rocking back and forth on his heels. What the fuck was wrong with him? He watched me curiously as I approached.

_A million dollars! My first week here and I've already raised a million dollars! The board is going to be thrilled. _No wonder he was moving around like a jittery squirrel. "Are you Mr. Powell?" he asked skeptically. I raised an eyebrow at him, not pleased that he sounded doubtful that I was connected to the Cullen's. Motherfucker, I was _the_ Cullen.

"Yes, I am. I assume you're the one that Mr. Jenks arranged things with?" I couldn't help it, my tone was slightly threatening. I glanced at Angela and saw that she looked rather alarmed so I gave her a reassuring smile.

Baldy looked panicked at my tone. "Yes, sir. My name is Trevor Hall. I'm here to take you to the Hayden Planetarium, as requested." Now he sounded like a simpering fool, kissing my ass out of fear that I would run to his generous benefactor. Good, he should worry.

"Thank you. I trust the food has already arrived?" I had no fucking idea what Jenks had arranged but it damn well better have been carried out.

Trevor nodded emphatically. "Yes, sir! Mr. Flay himself came and set everything up. He just left a few minutes ago. He didn't need to stay, did he?" he asked worriedly. I didn't know who the fuck Mr. Flay was but I was glad he was already gone. The less people to deal with, the better. Angela was a nervous wreck, fidgeting at my side and Trevor was a kiss ass who was annoying me already.

"Flay? Bobby Flay?" Angela asked, shock in her tone. I shrugged. That was probably his name. I asked for famous, didn't I? If she'd heard of him, then it must have been him.

"Yes," Trevor told her, positively bubbling with excitement. I kind of wanted to kill him. He was irritating. "It's quite exciting, isn't it?" Angela just nodded mutely and I rolled my eyes. Why the fuck were we still standing in the doorway? I wanted to get this night over.

"Can we go see what he left us?" I asked, trying to keep the edge out of my voice.

"Oh yes, of course sir! How rude of me to leave you standing here. Let me show you the way." I wanted to snap at him that I could find the fucking way myself but I'd never been here before so I may as well let the obsequious little fool lead us. He chattered about this exhibit and that exhibit as we made our way into the elevator. He hit the button for the third floor and continued to yammer about how excited he was to have received such a generous donation from the wonderful Cullen family. I nodded and smiled while Angela just looked completely lost. The doors finally opened and Trevor led us to the Planetarium, opening the doors with a wide flourish.

He led the way down the aisle to the stage area, where a red and white checkered blanket awaited along with a wicker picnic basket and a couple of wine glasses. There was a chilled bottle of wine in a bucket next to the blanket. _Wow. _I smiled at Angela's thought. She was clearly impressed. More points on the dream date scale for me.

"Would you like me to start the movie now or did you want to wait until you've eaten?" Trevor asked me solicitously, having finally stopped his yammering about the donation that had him jizzing his pants.

"After, I think. Though maybe you could dim the lights a bit and have some stars on the ceiling?"

"Yes, sir!" He ran to the lectern and flipped a few switches. The lights lowered, though Angela should still be able to see well enough to eat. He flipped another switch and stars twinkled all around us. "Is that acceptable?"

I saw the look of wonder on Angela's face and nodded my approval. "When you're done dining, just buzz me at this number and I'll come in and start the show for you, if that's okay?"

I took the card he handed me. "That will be perfect. Thank you." He hurried out of the room, still mentally crowing over his big donation. Simpleton.

I turned to Angela and gestured to the blanket. "Would you like to sit down?" She took off her coat and knelt down, still with a look of shock and wonder on her face. "Is this okay?" I was pretty sure it was but if she was going to be struck mute for the entire night things were going to get a bit boring.

She shook her head as if to snap herself out of her stupor, at least I hoped so. "Yes, Jason! I'm sorry. I just…nobody ever went so such trouble for me before. I never dreamed anyone would want to."

And that, my friends, is why I was on this ridiculous sham of a date. She sounded so much like Bella in that moment that my cock started to spring to attention. I cut him off ruthlessly though. Angela was a nice girl but I wasn't interested in fucking her. What I was interested in doing was figuring her out, and hopefully getting some insight into my girl at the same time. So I tilted my head and asked her, "Why wouldn't you think you were worthy of a night like this?"

She wrinkled her nose and thought about my question for a minute. _He couldn't possibly understand what it's like to be the odd one out, the girl that no guy ever looked at twice. _While she was beating herself up I dug into the picnic basket. I pulled out a couple of beautifully arranged plates and sighed as the smell of the food assaulted me. It appeared to be some kind of chicken club sandwich and some salad that had some green stalky things. Fuck, what was that shit? Asparagus? There were a couple other dishes in the basket, dessert it smelled like, so I left it in there for now.

Angela's muddy brown eyes widened as she took in the food in front of her. "I can't believe you got Bobby Flay to make our lunch. How did you do that?" Damn it, she was asking questions and not answering my own. She was more like Bella than I even allowed myself to imagine.

"My mother works for the Cullen family." Her mouth dropped open at the mention of my name. "When she heard I wanted to take you out she spoke to her boss and he pulled some strings."

"That's pretty amazing of them." I'll fucking say. I am pretty amazing. Why doesn't Bella see that?

"Yes. Mr. Cullen is a very nice guy. Some people don't realize that, but he truly is." I imagined Bella's look of irritation if she could see me talking about myself and I let out a small chuckle.

"He definitely is in my book," Angela said, picking up her fork and spearing one of the green stalky things. She took a bite and closed her eyes reverently. "This is so good." I was glad somebody thought so. It smelled like ass. She opened her eyes and smiled at me. "Aren't you going to try it?"

I grinned at her. "In just a second. Let me open the wine." I poured us each a glass and felt a pang at the blood red color in my glass. If only…but that was a dangerous thought. I didn't set the wine back in the bucket. I needed that for other things. I stuck one of the spears with my fork and moved it toward my mouth. Angela looked down at her plate and I quickly disposed of the offending vegetable in the wine bucket. Hopefully I could get away with that all night.

"Do you like it?" she asked. I pretended to be chewing and held up a finger at her. She laughed and attacked her plate again. I used that opportunity to dump a few more bites.

"It's fantastic," I told her. If she liked it, I fucking liked it. It was as simple as that. "Now will you tell me why you didn't think I would go to this kind of effort for you?" Damned if I wasn't going to get some answers.

She looked surprised and chewed thoughtfully before she answered. "Well, this is a big deal, Jason. You got a museum opened after hours and had a professional chef make our dinner. Not many people get an evening like this, particularly not people like me."

There it was. "What do you mean, people like you?" I tried to keep the irritation out of my tone. This wasn't Bella, this was Angela and she was going to help me understand Bella better. I thought I got her but a little more insight into her ridiculous poor self image couldn't hurt.

She wrinkled her nose again, her own version of the lip bite I guess. I far preferred the sight of Bella's sexy lip getting chewed on though, and so did my cock. "I just…I don't have a lot of experience with boys. Men," she corrected herself. "I'm not exactly beautiful and I'm really pretty shy. Just talking to you right now is taking a lot of effort." I knew that was true from her thoughts alone. She was very much like my Bella, I couldn't have chosen better.

"First of all," I told her, doing my best to keep my tone light, "You are a very attractive girl, Angela." She automatically shook her head and I had to fight the urge to start yelling at her. "You are. Second, you're incredibly nice. You helped me out, a perfect stranger, in my time of need. Not everyone would do something like that. You're also very sweet and you must be pretty smart to be a nurse. So, stop putting yourself down, okay? You deserve this night just as much as anyone else does." Okay, so I was talking more to Bella than Angela but she didn't fucking know that.

Her face lit up under my praise and she gave me a tentative smile. "Thank you, Jason."

"Anytime, Angela." See, she knew how to take a fucking compliment. Bella would just tell me I didn't fucking know her. I knew her perfectly well, thank you very much.

She started eating her sandwich then. _So good! _ She looked at my plate and then back at me. I was fucked. She didn't have to look down at her plate now so I was going to have to take a bite. Hopefully it would be the only one. I picked up the foul food and forced myself to take a bite. I chewed as quickly as possible and swallowed. It felt like it was lodged in my throat. Fucking disgusting. I'd have to hurl the minute I dropped Angela off. She looked down at her wine glass and I tore a chunk of the sandwich off and threw it in the bucket. Someone was in for a bit of surprise when they went to clean that up.

She looked back up at me and smiled shyly. "So how did you do on your assignment, anyway?"

I arranged my features to appear defeated and shook my head sadly. "Not well, I'm afraid. You were an invaluable help but my teacher didn't feel my work was up to par. I think he was just out to get me."

She looked impossibly sad. "So does that mean…"

"That I have to go home, yes. That's why…well, it's why I wanted to give you a night like this. You deserve so much more but it's all I can do." Hand me my fucking Oscar right now. "I really wanted to thank you for being a good person."

_See, I knew that's why he asked me out. Just to thank me. Oh well, I expected it. He's much too good for me anyway. _Damn it. I had fucked up and made her think it was all about her helping me. I mean, it mostly was, but she didn't need to think that. She didn't vocalize those thoughts though, just smiled at me sadly and returned to her food. Bella would totally be smacking me right about now. I was surprised to find I actually fucking missed that. I'm a twisted son of a bitch, clearly.

Time to lay it on thick. "I'm only sorry that I can't spend more time with you. I would have loved to explore the city with you, show you all the spots I like to go to get away." Somehow I couldn't see Angela on my hunting grounds but she didn't need to know about that.

She looked up at me through her lowered lashes, reminding me completely of my Bella in that moment. "Really? I mean, you would want to spend more time with me other than just as a thank you?" Yes, so much like Bella it was insane.

"Of course. I've thought about you a lot over the last couple of days." Well, I thought of how thankful I was that she made Bella jealous enough to attack me and let me the fuck in a little bit, so not a lie. "I was really disappointed when I got my grade back and knew I'd have to go home. I finally meet a great girl and of course I have to leave." Her eyes were shining now and she was actually really pretty when she smiled and meant it. I wished there really was a Jason Powell that could appreciate her. Someday, someone would.

"I've thought about you too," she admitted shyly. I just bet she had. I gave her a sweet smile and wrapped up the rest of my sandwich.

"Are you ready for the show?" I asked and she nodded enthusiastically. I called Trevor and he came running. Little perv was probably standing right outside the door hoping to hear some action. He'd be sorely disappointed if that was the case. He hit some buttons and the lights went down completely and the voiceover started. I scooted over next to Angela and slung an arm around her shoulders. It's what I would have done to Bella and I figured Angela deserved some affection. She shivered, probably at my body temperature, but didn't move away from me. _He's touching me!_ I hid a smile at her internal excitement.

"It's so beautiful," she whispered and it really sort of was. The fireball that was the sun, the pretty planets, the stars, comets…I really had to find a way to bring my girl here someday. She'd love it. She'd told me all about the first time she'd been here, a little sadness in her tone. I didn't know if it was because I was bringing Angela or if she didn't think she'd ever get to come again. Either way, I hadn't liked hearing her sound upset so I promised to bring her back. And we would be doing way more than cuddling when I got her here. She could ride me in one of those plush red seats…and now my cock was getting hard again. Keep it under control, Cullen. You'll see her soon enough.

The clip ended and Trevor came running in again, flipping the controls and bringing us back to the half light. He nodded at me and hurried out, anxious to please. I moved away from Angela and went back to the picnic basket. "Ready for some dessert?" Hopefully I wouldn't have to choke anymore down. That bite of chicken was sitting in my stomach like a rock.

"Sure," she agreed, smoothing down her skirt. I dug out the remaining two containers and opened them. It was some sort of pie, apparently. It smelled like bananas. I handed Angela a plate and she actually let out a little moan. What the fuck? "Banana cheese pie!" she exclaimed. "I had a piece once and it's heavenly." _Like an orgasm on a plate. _Thank God I was facing away from her because I was sure my face was comical at that little thought. It didn't seem very Angela-like but what did I know? The quiet ones could surprise you. Look at Bella.

I took my plate and scooped up a forkful. She was watching me with interest now, I guess looking to see if I'd come at first bite. Not fucking likely. But I took a bite and made my own orgasm noises, to let her know it was just as good as she thought it was. It tasted like dirt to me but she seemed to be happy. She dug in cheerfully. "I'm so full but I have to eat it," she informed me, licking her fork in an almost enticing way. From any other girl I would take that as a sign she wanted to fuck. I wasn't assuming that was the case with Angela, orgasm comment aside. I hoped the fuck not, anyway. I didn't want to have to reject the sweet girl.

I wrapped up my pie. "Do you want to take the rest of this home? I can't eat a lot of sweets."

"Are you sure?" She sounded as if I were offering her a diamond ring or something. Some people were easy to please; unlike some other people with long brown hair and gorgeous red eyes and a perfect fucking body and a smart mouth. Damn I missed her.

"Yes. I'm in the process of packing everything anyway. I don't need more food." She thanked me and I packed up the basket to take with us. "Are you ready to go?" She nodded and I extended my hand to help her off the blanket. _Still cold. _Yeah, sorry, Angela, I'm pretty much going to stay that way. I released her hand and stuck the wine bottle back into the bucket. You couldn't see that there was food in there until they removed it. Trevor would probably find it but he was likely too happy with his windfall to be bothered to wonder about it.

We exited the door and he was there waiting. "Did you have a good time? Is there anything more I can do for you?" _Please tell Mr. Cullen that I took good care of you. Maybe there's more where this came from!_

I chuckled. "Yes, thank you. I'll be sure to tell Mr. Cullen how very accommodating you were." He beamed at me and walked with us to the elevators.

"Thank you so much. Please thank Mr. Cullen for his generous donation." I nodded and we made our way out to the car.

"Tell me more about you," I requested as I started the car. She started talking about her twin brothers and her reverend father. I listened with half an ear and made appropriate comments when required. My mind was back at the brownstone with Bella. Now that I'd fed one girl, I really had to see about feeding the other. It had been a few days and Bella needed to try the packaged blood. If she liked it, we'd have to come up with a way to get it that didn't require me to date anymore nurses. It wasn't too painful but I was one and done.

I pulled up in front of Angela's house and turned off the car. I ran around and helped her out and grabbed the picnic basket. I walked her to her front door and she turned to face me, looking both sad and hopeful at the same time. _I wonder if he'll kiss me. _Fuck. I couldn't. I promised Bella. I handed her the picnic basket. "I had a really good time," I told her.

She looked down at the basket in her hands and mumbled something unintelligible. "What?" I asked. If I couldn't hear her, she must not have meant to say anything.

She looked at me then and shifted nervously. "Do you want to come in for awhile?" I actually felt my stomach drop at her words. She looked like she was going to be sick but she'd been brave enough to extend the invitation. I had to let her down easily.

"I'd love to, Angela, but I don't think that would be right. I'm leaving this weekend and you deserve better than that." It was true, too. She didn't need a guy who would be a quick fuck. She needed someone who would cherish her the way that I…oh, fuck no. Get rid of that thought right now, bastard.

"I understand," she murmured softly. I saw tears in her eyes and I felt like a complete ass. What had Bella gotten me into?

I reached out and tilted her head up. She looked at me with watery eyes and I knew I had to break a promise to Bella. I didn't like it and she sure as fuck wouldn't but I bet if she'd witnessed the date she would have been pissed if I didn't do it. So I leaned down and pressed my lips to Angela's, very gently. No tongue, just a sweet kiss that a guy would give to a girl on their first date. She gasped and returned my gentle pressure with her own. I counted to five and then stepped back. "Thank you for a wonderful evening, Angela."

She looked a little dazed. "Thank you, Jason. I won't ever forget this night."

"Me either." I meant that too. My infinite memory wouldn't let me forget, but even if I could, I wouldn't want to. She was a great girl and I'd never had an evening like this, where I wasn't trying to get into a girl's pants. Angela fumbled with her keys but managed to get her door unlocked.

"Have a safe trip."

"I will. I'll be in touch." I'd send her flowers or some kind of goodbye present. She watched me for a moment before stepping inside and closing the door.

I hurried back to my car and started it up. It was time to head home, although I had a stop to make first. I knew Bella was going to be pissed at me for kissing Angela, so maybe I should kill two birds with one stone and do something that would really set her off.

* * *

**A/N Hmmm wonder what Smugward is up to now? Bella better not be too hard on him, he kinda had to kiss Angela there didn't he? **

**Awesome reader Starla started a thread for this story over on Twilighted. There's a link in my profile. I posted a teaser for this chapter there and will continue to do so as I write. And hey, less than 2 weeks between updates this time! I'm posting as fast as I can, I swear!**

**Voting is underway over at The Writer's Coffee Shop for The Sport of Love contest. My story, First & Ten, is there, so go, read, and vote for your faves. Sweaty Edward's are always a good thing, methinks!**

**Less than two weeks left to submit for Silence Of The Wolves contest. I want more wolf slaying!**

**I submitted my name for the Fandom Gives Back auction in June. I'll write anything you want, so long as it's canon pairings. SL outtakes? BPOV for this story? Something original? You name it, I'll do it!**

**I'll be back with you ASAP with whatever Smugward's about to do next!  
**


	10. Chapter 10

Taste of Innocence Chapter 10

The first thing I did after leaving Angela's was drive around the corner and park the car. I ducked into someone's bushes and hurled up that disgusting fucking food that I'd been forced to swallow. Never again. I'd taught myself to eat just in case I ever had occasion to do so but this was the first time I'd put it into practice. Every other situation where food was in front of me I'd been able to fake it. Gagging up undigested food is not pleasant. I was grateful it was fairly soft food though; it didn't cause a lot of issues coming back up.

I got back in the car and made my way toward 10th Avenue, stopping to park at 8th and walking the rest of the way. I hadn't been in this part of town in quite awhile and I wasn't overly thrilled to be here now but I knew I was likely to find what I was looking for here.

When I'd been waiting for Bella to awaken, I'd watched the news constantly searching for any word on her disappearance. I've always watched the news frequently looking for potential targets and there had been some recent killings in this area that I wanted to check out. Apparently some hooker was taking her johns on more than just a ride. She left them with empty wallets and slit throats. The cops weren't exactly knocking themselves out to try to capture the murderous prostitute and I really couldn't fucking blame them. There were much higher profile crimes in this city and the victims weren't exactly Joe fucking Citizen. But still, they were men who hadn't done much more wrong than paying for sex. It was fucking pathetic but shouldn't be a death sentence. So I was going trolling for a hooker.

Bella would be royally fucking pissed if she knew I was and what I was doing in this part of town. I actually felt kind of dirty about it; I'd left behind two very sweet, good girls and now I was looking for a twisted whore. Of course, I wasn't going to touch her…well not anymore than necessary to kill her that is. I wouldn't stick my cock in her disease ridden snatch though, not after having been with the perfection that was Bella.

Yeah, I've slept with my fair share of prostitutes in my time, not that I ever fucking paid them a dime for it. Edward Cullen doesn't pay for sex. Still, they were uncomplicated, unlike some willful brunettes that I could think of. Okay, one in particular. You could bang a chick like that and leave; no muss and no fuss. I finally had complication in my life and it was fucking with me in irritating and exciting ways. Even knowing that she was going to be insanely pissed at me when I got home didn't damper my desire to hurry up and get back to her. A pissed off Bella was a sexy Bella. At least I'd get some pleasure from her temper. I deserved some fucking pleasure, didn't I?

Here I was, about to take out a serial killer prostitute and I wasn't getting anything from it. Sustenance, maybe, but I wasn't even that fucking hungry. I just figured since I was out, I may as well feed; then I wouldn't have to leave Bella anytime soon. Plus I was going to try to get Bella to eat tonight and I didn't need to be remotely tempted by her packaged blood. I wanted to sit back and enjoy that show. Watching her feed, even from a plastic bag, was going to be hot as hell. Primal Bella called to me in an even more powerful way than regular Bella. Fuck, I was hard again and the whores were going to see exactly what I was packing. Oh well, doesn't hurt to show off the goods a little does it?

I made my way between 10th and 11th Avenue, prime real estate for the ladies of the night. I chuckled to myself at that phrase. There was nothing ladylike about these women. The first one, with bleached blond hair and raccoon-like make-up caught sight of me. I braced myself for the fucking onslaught. _Damn, look at him. I'd do him for free. Come to momma, big boy. _I I really once enjoyed this kind of attention? What the fuck was wrong with me back then?

She didn't keep her thoughts to herself either. "Hey, mister, what's your name?"

I stopped and let her sidle up to me. She tried to look seductive but only succeeded in looking rather pathetic. She'd been at this life a long time, I could tell. "Carlisle." I bit back a laugh at the thought of my father fucking this woman.

"Nice to meet you, Carlisle. I'm Sheila. You looking for some fun tonight?" Yes, I am but not with you. She was imagining blowing me in a back alley and then me fucking her against the wall. Not a bad visual, if I inserted Bella in her place. But there were no murderous thoughts in her head. She wasn't who I was looking for.

"I'm thinking about it. I'll let you know." I moved on before she could start pushing me, which she was sure to do in about five seconds. I hadn't gotten more than ten feet away when the next one approached. She had dark skin and nearly black eyes. She was actually pretty hot, wearing a short black dress and leather jacket. I imagined Bella in that outfit and my cock, which had gone limp at the sight of Sheila, perked back up immediately. The effect that girl had on me…she was definitely a fucking witch.

"Hi, sugar." Ha, yeah that's me, sugar and sweetness. Except when I'm not…which is most of the fucking time. "What are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for trouble." What? I was. I was surely going to find it when I got home to Bella.

She let out a booming laugh for such a tiny woman. She was about 5'2 in her heels, though delicate was not the word I would use to describe her. There was a hardness about her….this chick took no shit from anyone I could tell. I could respect that. "You can definitely find that here."

I laughed with her. "I suspected as much."

"What kind of trouble are you in the mood for?" She wasn't the type to offer me a freebie, even if she found me attractive, which of course she did. I wondered if I could be straight with her.

"I'm looking for the kind that you don't walk away from." Her eyes flickered then. _He can't be a fucking cop. Cops don't look like that, do they? If they do, I should have gotten arrested more often. _I got a few brief flashes of her in handcuffs and she was right, the policemen that busted her didn't look remotely like me. Not that anybody fucking does, I am one of a kind.

She braced herself and looked me right in the eyes. "Are you a cop?"

I chuckled. "Do I look like a fucking cop?"

"No, but that would sure make you more effective wouldn't it?" I liked this woman, she wasn't afraid to speak her mind.

"What's your name?"

"Leanne. Yours?"

"Carlisle." I wanted to give her my real name. I did that with people I could respect but I had a cover to maintain.

_Carlisle? What the fuck kind of name is that. Probably his last name. _"That's a pretty white bread name."

"I'm a pretty white bread guy." I flashed a smile that she didn't return.

"If you're not a cop, why are you looking for that kind of trouble?"

My smile changed from friendly to predatory and she took an automatic step back. _Whoa. _"Maybe I had a family member who found trouble here." That was more believable than the alternative.

"The cops have already been down here asking questions," she informed me, inching away.

"They didn't get anywhere, did they?"

"How would I know?"

"I think you know a lot, Leanne." I stepped closer to her and she backed up against the wall. "I'm not going to harm you. I just want to find the girl that's killing her customers." Her mind flashed to a trio of women; one with pale, almost white hair, another with black hair and one with strawberry blond hair. There were three of them? That was interesting. Not the kind of threesome I usually looked for but it could still be fun. _I don't know for sure that's it them, but I know the one that got killed went off with Tanya. I'm not giving up a sister, not even to a fine fella like this one. _Oh but you just did, Leanne, and thank you.

"I can't tell you anything," she informed me, her voice shaking a little at my proximity. I stepped away from her and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you anyway. It was nice meeting you, Leanne." She mumbled something like "sure" back and scurried down the street.

Now I had faces and a name. I walked past the single women, ignoring their verbal and mental comments. I knew what I was looking for and I didn't have to waste anymore time. I wanted to get home to Bella, not spend time with needy whores.

Ten minutes later I saw them, standing on a dark street corner. They were just as Leanne had pictured. The tallest one, Tanya, leaned against the wall with a cigarette clamped between her teeth. I could see that she'd been beautiful once upon a time. Her skin was pallid now, her hair limp, but her body was attractive and there was a confidence there that few women in her profession had. Oh, they pretended to, but it was all just a show. This one, though, she knew who and what she was. A prostitute, yes, but also a killer. Her eyes met mine and a slow smile curved over her face and I got a glimmer of that beauty she once possessed. "This one's all mine," she murmured softly to her friends. A human wouldn't have heard her. Too bad for her that I didn't have that problem.

I walked up to them confidently, stopping and flashing them my smile. "Hi."

"Hello, handsome," Tanya purred, putting her hand on the sleeve of my leather jacket. I fought the urge to shrug her off. "What can I do for you tonight?" You can die, how does that fucking sound, Tanya?

"Depends. What do you do?"

She giggled. "A better question is what don't I do? Not much." She envisioned herself riding me and then slashing my neck open just as I came. I guess at least she let the guy get off before she ended his life. What a fucking humanitarian she was.

"I like a girl without limits," I told her, using my sexiest voice.

Her fingers trailed up my arm and again I felt like throwing her hand off me. _Bella wouldn't approve. _I fucking know that, stupid inner voice. Would she approve of this bitch killing random men right and left? He didn't fucking answer me, of course, because I was right. Douche. It was time for him to shut the fuck up. Finally. "I like a guy with imagination. Tell me, do you have a good imagination?"

Better than you could ever hope for, honey. "I do, indeed."

"Well maybe we should go somewhere and you could show me what you've got."

"Lead the way, pretty lady." I wanted to gag on the words but she seemed to like them. She preened and started to walk away but the raven haired girl grabbed her arm.

"Just give me a minute, okay?" She glared at the girl that held her arm and I walked a few feet away to give her privacy. As if she really had any. "What, Irina?"

"I think you should lay off, Tanya. Do you really have to kill him? He's gorgeous."

"The prettier they are on the outside, the uglier on the inside. I'm doing this, Irina." Hmm, that was pretty fucking insightful, at least in my case.

"Why do you have to do this at all? I don't like it, Tanya." The other girl was arguing with her now.

"You saw what they did to Mom, Kate. I'm making them pay." I got a mental flash of an older blond woman, beaten to a bloody pulp. So their mother had shared their profession, it seemed.

"The cops have already been sniffing around, Tanya. Maybe you should lay low for a little while."

"I know what I'm doing, Kate. I'll give it a rest after this one." I wanted to laugh at the blatant lie. Tanya got off on her kills and now she had a taste for blood. Revenge was secondary to the enjoyment of the act now. She was completely fucking depraved. I couldn't wait to kill her.

She walked away from her sisters and came up next to me. "You ready?"

I shot her a roguish grin. "Always." She took me around the corner and ducked into a dilapidated building on 21st Street. I looked around at the dingy rooms and suppressed a shudder. Really classy. She led the way upstairs and stopped at a door with the number 22 on it. She pushed open the door and there was an old stained mattress on the floor and a floor lamp. I did my best not to sneer at the accommodations but really? Fucking in the alley would be more sanitary than this. Not that I was about to fuck her.

"So, tell me what you have in mind." Her hand was on my chest now and she started toying with the buttons on my shirt. I took a step back, out of her reach. She wasn't to touch me anymore than she already had. "Are you going to play coy now?" she asked, stepping closer to me.

"I'm not playing coy, I just don't want you to fucking touch me," I growled.

"What the fuck is your problem?' Her eyes flashed with anger but she didn't back down.

"I don't have a problem."

"You sure act like you do." She shrugged off her linen coat and revealed a skin tight red dress. "I won't touch you…how about you touch me?" She started to tug the strap off her right shoulder and I put my hand over hers. _Damn, he's cold. I can warm him up. _She pictured hot red blood dripping from my neck…if she only fucking knew. "That's right, baby, you take control." I chuckled. As if I hadn't been in complete control from the beginning.

I pushed her against the wall and I saw excitement flash in her pale blue eyes. She still thought she was in charge, despite my obvious height, weight and strength advantages on her. "I know who you are," I whispered into her right ear. She shivered, whether from excitement or fear I couldn't say. She'd be afraid soon enough if she wasn't already.

"Who am I?" she asked, letting her head fall back, exposing her neck to me. The venom welled up in my mouth but I swallowed it back. Not quite yet.

"You're a killer," I murmured into her ear. Her head jerked in surprise.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about." She tried to pull away from me but there was nowhere to go. She was caged between my arms against the wall.

"Sure you do, Tanya. You bring get men alone, fuck them and then slit their throats." She stared at me in shock. _How could he know? He's just bullshitting, trying to get me to admit to something. Deny it all._

"Listen, I don't know who you are but you're crazy. Let's just call this a wash and go our separate ways. Clearly you have the wrong idea about me." She tried to step away from the wall but I caught her shoulders and held her there.

"Do you know how I know who you are, Tanya?" My voice was a low hiss and she shuddered, not out of desire this time. Fear was written all over her face and the venom started to well up again. I didn't swallow it back this time though. She shook her head. "Because I'm a killer too. I recognize my kind when I see them." I could tell her I read her mind but why bother? She was already pretty fucking terrified, as she should be.

_He's going to kill me. No…he can't. I'm going to kill him. _I laughed as she reached underneath her dress and pulled out a switchblade. I could have moved, I suppose, but why? She held the knife between us. "I'll fucking kill you if you don't let me go," her voice shook but she stared me down. She actually thought she could take me. It was fucking hilarious.

"Why don't you go ahead and try?" I challenged. Her eyes darkened and she held the knife against my throat.

"I'm not kidding. We can both leave here and pretend this never happened. Step back and I'll let you live."

"Only one of us is walking out of this room, sweetheart. If you want it to be you, you better act in the next five seconds." I was a cruel prick, I admit it. She didn't stand a chance in hell but I liked to see that little bit of hope flash in her pale eyes. She really thought she might be able to walk away.

She tried to slash the knife across my neck and she gasped when nothing happened. She pulled it away and attempted to stab me in the heart. I laughed as the blade broke in half against my chest. "What are you?" she asked, cowering against the wall.

"I'm your death," I told her. She let out a scream and I sank my teeth into her neck. The scream quickly became a gurgle as her blood filled my mouth. She collapsed against me and I yanked her head back. I didn't want any more of her touching me than absolutely necessary.

I took most of her blood and then dragged her own blade across her throat, obliterating my teeth marks. I took the pointer finger of her right hand and dipped it in the little bit of the blood that was seeping out of her neck wound. I wrote against the wall, right where I'd killed her, with her own hand. _I killed them all. _Then I laid her on the mattress and crossed her arms over her stomach. She looked rather peaceful, except for the gaping cut in her neck of course. I imagined her sisters would come looking for her eventually. What they'd tell the cops, if anything, was beyond me. If they called them, they'd have some explaining to do. I took both pieces of her knife with me as it was the only thing I'd touched in the room.

I went the back way the way I came and approached the other two, who were talking to a couple of potential customers that looked like they'd seen better days. The dark haired one, Irina, stared at me with wide eyes and walked toward me hesitantly. "Where…where's my sister?" _Something is very wrong here. _The other sister broke away from her guy and walked up as well, looking at me apprehensively.

"I think you know where she is. You know what she is as well. Or should I say was?" My voice was low and threatening. Both women took a step back.

_No…Tanya, she can't be! _Irina shook her head in denial. Poor fucking deluded woman.

"You knew she was a killer. Tell me, are you?" I needed to know before I left them alive.

"No, we tried to talk her out of it but…" Kate gave Irina a gesture telling her to be silent.

"But she wouldn't listen and you wouldn't turn in your sister." I could actually fucking respect that, if it weren't for the fact that their sister was a sick, twisted bitch. Kate nodded. "Well, she's been stopped, for good." Kate let out a sob and Irina grabbed her arm. "You're welcome to call the cops and tell them about me but then you're going to have to tell them about her as well. And you might be in a bit of trouble for not coming forward in the first place. It's up to you. But know this…if one of you steps into your sister's shoes, I will return and you will meet the same fate. Do you understand me?"

They both nodded mutely and their minds didn't give me any clarity as to what they were thinking. Shock had clearly set in and they were pretty much useless to me now. I wanted to get the fuck home to Bella anyway. If they did set the cops after me, they'd have a hell of a time finding me anyway. I wasn't worried. I gave them both a predatory smile. "I'll be going now. You take care of one another and don't step out of line. _I will find out if you do."_ I left them standing on their pathetic little street corner, clutching one another in confusion and pain.

As soon as I turned the corner, I sped up my pace. I wanted to get the fuck away from this dark, dank part of the world and return to the light that was my Bella. She alone could remove the filth that felt like it was clinging to my skin and clothes. I hoped I never had to return to this part of the city, it was fucking depressing as hell. I reached my car and immediately felt better the closer I got to Bella. I was inordinately excited to see her again.

I parked on the street and ran up the stairs quickly, throwing the door open, nearly vibrating with anticipation. She wasn't on the couch watching TV and I felt a surge of disappointment that she wasn't waiting to greet me. But then, I heard her on the stairs. She hurried down and a smile lit up her face. She'd never looked more beautiful and I swear I could feel her from across the room. "Edward, you're home!" She ran toward me and leapt into my arms and fuck if that wasn't the most perfect greeting I'd ever had in my entire fucking life. She leaned forward and her lips were nearly an inch from mine when all of a sudden her nose twitched and a look of horror washed over her face. Oh shit.

"You killed her!" she shrieked, shoving me back against the door as she pushed away from me. My head hit the wood with a resounding crack. That fucking hurt. Wait a minute, she thought I killed Angela? What the hell? How about a little fucking faith, woman? "How could you kill her? You said she was nice and reminded you of me. Is that why you did it?" She started stomping around the room, her hair streaming behind her. I salivated at the sight while rubbing my head where it had smacked into the door. "Did you turn her? Do you want two of us now? Is that what happened? Edward and his little harem, living to serve him? If you fucking think I'm going to share you with her, you've got another think coming. You're mine!" She punctuated that statement by jabbing her pointer finger into my chest. Much harder and she would actually puncture my nearly impenetrable skin.

Edward Junior was standing at attention, not surprising since Bella was completely fucking hot as she staked her claim on me yet again. I started to reach for her but she whirled away from me. "How could you kill her?" she demanded, her ruby eyes staring at me accusingly.

"I didn't kill her, I…"

"I can smell the blood, Edward. Don't you dare lie to me!" she shrieked. Holy fuck, why had I been in such a hurry to get home? She crossed her arms underneath her breasts and I remembered why I had been anxious to see her. She was wearing a green tank top and black jeans and she looked incredibly fuckable; well except for the flaring nostrils and hostile glare. Of course that actually made me want to fuck her more because I was clearly mentally ill.

"I'm not lying to you, I'm trying to tell you that I…"

"So you didn't kill her? Did you change her then? How could you, Edward? Am I not enough for you?" And just like that, her anger deflated and she looked like a forlorn child. Judging that the storm had passed, I reached for her and pulled her back into my arms. She came into them docilely, burrowing into my chest. I felt like a fucking asshole, she'd be crying if she could right now, I could tell.

I tilted her head up and looked into that impossibly sad face. Her lower lip poked out and I wanted to bite it but now wasn't the time. It was never the time with Bella, it fucking seemed. "You are more than enough for me, Bella. Do you really think that I could possibly want anyone else when I have you?" She nodded sadly and tried to pull away but I tightened my grip on her. "Look at me, Bella. Am I lying to you right now?"

Her eyes focused on mine and I tried to put every ounce of passion that I felt for her into my gaze. A little smile stole over her perfect lips and I knew she believed me. It was about fucking time. Then she bit down on her lip and I let out a groan as Edward Junior made himself known again. Bella was pressed up against me and her lips were only a few short inches from mine. I only had to lean forward a little and…

"If you didn't kill her or turn her, who did you kill?" Fuck. Of course she went there.

"A serial killer."

"You managed to run into a serial killer at some point on your date? How the hell does that happen?" She tilted her head to the side and frowned up at me. I wanted to lick her.

"I didn't run into her on my date, I ran into her after." Okay, so I went looking for her. It was all fucking semantics.

"Her?" There was an edge in her tone again. Jealousy, I fucking loved it.

"Yes, her."

"Who did she kill?" She was maintaining her calm at the moment but I knew I had to tread fucking carefully here.

"Men."

She raised an eyebrow. "She just walked around killing men willy-nilly?" What was this, the fucking Spanish Inquisition?

"No, she picked out certain men and then got them alone and killed them." There, perfectly vague. Leave it alone Bella.

"How did she manage that? Was she pretty?" Fuck. Of course she wouldn't leave it alone. She'd have been the perfect interrogator. Perhaps she could have gotten a job at Homeland Security, interviewing terrorists and whatnot.

And how the fuck was I supposed to answer that question? If I said no, she'd ask a zillion more questions about how she got guys to go with her. If I said yes, she'd be pissed that I thought another girl was pretty, even if I'd drained said girl's fucking blood. It was a lose/lose situation. "I suppose some men would find her attractive," I told her, excluding myself from the pack.

"So she hit on men and then took them home and killed them?" I nodded. That was sort of what fucking happened, right? She glared at me then. "So she hit on you and you went home with her and killed her?" Well fuck; I walked right into that one; didn't I?

"Not exactly." _You are royally fucked, Edward. I tried to tell you, didn't I? But you didn't listen. Enjoy the wrath. _Of course the motherfucker would desert me in my time of need.

"Then what, exactly?" She began tapping her foot as she waited for my answer. Oh well, what did I have to fucking lose? _Your balls, your cock, your head, your left arm…_Real helpful, you sarcastic dick. Get the fuck out of my head if you're not going to be of any use to me.

"She…uh…" Bella looked at me expectantly. "She was a...pstwokldcstmrs." I spat it out all in one word and Bella blinked.

"What?"

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. "She was a prostitute who killed her customers," I muttered, more clearly this time.

"So you pretended to be a customer?" Oh, fuck, the frost in her tone was enough to make Edward Junior fall off and die.

"Maybe," I replied cautiously, edging a little bit away from her for fear that fists and feet were about to fly. I never fucking knew with Bella and for some reason that continued to excite the hell out of me. I really did need to find a shrink.

"So you just strolled up to a hooker and went off with her God knows where to fuck and then kill her?" The frost in her tone gave way to anger, white hot anger. Well shit, why in the hell did she think I fucked the girl first? I would never do that. Well, okay, I would fucking do that before Bella, but not after.

"No! I mean, I let her think I wanted to fuck her but really I just wanted to kill her."

She growled. "Is that really better, Edward?" Well, I sure fucking thought so.

"Yes. I wouldn't…you know…be with anyone else. I have you." I gave her a smile and she just glowered at me. So much for my famous fucking charm.

"But you haven't had me, have you? So you got tired of waiting and found a whore to be with?" She hurled the words at me like a weapon. What the fuck? Like it was my fault she wouldn't fucking sleep with me?

"Jesus Christ, do I look like I've had sex? Do I smell like I've had sex? You smelled the blood on me right away, don't you think you'd fucking notice that too? And how many damn times do I need to tell you that you're the only one I want for it to sink through your thick fucking skull, Bella? Two hundred? A million? A billion? Because I'd like to get started reciting that shit so we can move the fuck on already. I'm getting tired of you doubting me every minute of the fucking day," I roared at her and the angry look left her face. She looked flustered and surprised. That was better than pissed off and judgmental any day.

"Well, what was I supposed to think?" she asked softly.

"That I'd fucking be true to my word, maybe? Have I ever fucking lied to you since you woke up and I told you everything?" She shook her head no. "Well then, give me the benefit of the fucking doubt, Bella. I didn't fuck the whore. I followed her back to the room she used and I bit and drained her." Bella flinched at that but she didn't say anything. "She was deranged bitch who got off on killing men as she screwed them. Maybe they weren't the nicest men in the world, but did they deserve to die for paying for sex?"

"Well, no, but…"

"Yeah, but…I know you don't approve of me killing anyone. I get that, but you have to understand that this is who I am. And if you care about me, you have to tolerate that just like I tolerate the fact that you won't kill anyone. I can't make all the compromises here, Bella. You have to give too." Man, where the fuck had that come from? I was rather proud of myself.

Bella opened her mouth and then closed it again. She sighed and then said, "You're right." What? Did she just say…what?

"What?" Okay, so I was a little bit stuck on the fact that she just fucking said I was right. Had that ever happened? Would it ever happen again?

"I said you're right. I need to accept who you are just like you accept me. I'm not going to pretend to like it nor am I going to just forget it, but I won't give you crap every time you feed either. I'm not giving up, mind you, but I won't scream at you anymore either." Well, how the fuck did she get so reasonable? I thought about questioning it but why look a gift horse in the mouth?

"Um, great."

Bella grabbed my hand and tugged me into the music room. She had a book sitting out on the coffee table. So that's what she'd been doing while I was gone. "So." She sat on the couch and pulled me down next to her. "How did the date go then?" Crap, another loaded fucking question.

"It was fine. Kinda boring really."

She frowned at that. "What do you mean, boring? Didn't she have a good time?"

"Well, of course, she had a good time. I was bored. I missed you." There it was; that million dollar fucking smile again. It made me warm inside.

She leaned her head on my shoulder. "Tell me all about it."

She was a masochist too, it seemed. So I took her through the date from the time I picked Angela up, telling her about the rose, which pleased her, and that kissass Trevor, which made her laugh. I told her about the couple of bites of food I had to swallow and the show. "Then I dropped her off and went and threw up the food and then hunted."

"What did you she say when you dropped her off?" Oh, fuck. "Did you tell her you were leaving?" I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, I told her I had to return to Chicago since I was failing my class. She was sorry I had to go but she enjoyed the evening. She wanted me to come in but I said no." Fuck, why had that slipped out? I wasn't going to tell her that.

Bella chuckled and grinned up at me. "So she invited you in? You must have made quite an impression to get her to overcome her shyness. I don't know if I could have done that in her place."

I ran a finger over her cheek. "You were brave enough to come home with me, I'm sure you would have been brave enough to invite me in."

She smiled. "Maybe…I surprise myself constantly around you." That made us even. "So that was it? She didn't get upset when you rejected her, did she? You let her down gently I hope!"

My stomach dropped. Here it was. Lie or tell the truth? If I lied, she'd never fucking know. _But you would and it would eat at you until you admitted it. _How do you know, motherfucker? And who asked you? _You did! _No, I was asking myself. _I am you, fuckwad. _Damn I hated him.

Bella was looking at me, waiting for my answer. The longer I hesitated, the worse it would be, right? "I, um, well actually…you're not going to like this."

Her eyes widened. "I thought you said you didn't kill her? Edward so help me…"

"I didn't! I didn't kill her! Damn it, why do you keep going there? I just kissed the girl for crying out loud!"

She jerked her head off my shoulder and put her hand on my chest. "What did you just say?" Oh fuck…that hadn't been the best way to reveal that little bit of information.

"I…um, I kissed her but…"

"You promised me! Did you just say that you never broke your word? You fucking kissed her? How could you?" She was off the couch in a flash and before I could process what she was doing, she yanked my guitar off its stand and hurled it at me. I ducked and it crashed into the wall, getting stuck there. Fuck, I loved that guitar.

She grabbed my CDs and started hurling them at me one by one as I ducked and dodged my way over to her. I grabbed both her hands to try to still her and she brought her knee up and nailed me right in the fucking crotch. Jesus, that fucking hurt. I didn't release her though. I picked her up and carried her to the couch, pulling her down to my lap as she wriggled on top of me. Though he wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as he usually was, Edward Junior did harden as her ass moved against him. He, like me, was a twisted motherfucker who apparently got off on being beaten up by Bella. I kept my arms locked around her as she struggled against me.

"Bella, I swear I'll let you go after you listen to me."

"Why should I listen to you? You're a fucking liar. You kissed Angela! You probably fucked her and then the whore you went to next. How many others between them? Did you service the whole fucking neighborhood?" She was so fucking melodramatic all the time. I let her rant, accusing me of sleeping with every hooker in a ten block radius and Angela's fellow nurses and random girls at the museum and everyone else she could think of. It was actually rather amusing but I managed not to laugh. I was impressed that she thought I had that kind of stamina. I mean, I did, but only for her.

When she finally wound down, I took a breath. "Can I talk now, or do you have more to say?" She shrugged and continued to try to get loose but I wasn't about to let her go. She wasn't trying that hard anyway…she could have gotten away if she wanted to.

"Listen, from the very beginning, I've equated you with Angela and vice versa, right?" She didn't answer so I continued on. "I went on this date at your request…no, actually your demand." She glared at me but didn't contradict my words because she knew I was fucking right. "And I treated her like I would treat you." She started to struggle again and I stilled her. Thank God she didn't fucking know that she was actually stronger than me. That was information I planned on keeping to myself indefinitely. She could find that shit out after she no longer had newborn strength.

"Just hold the fuck on, Bella and listen to me. So I went on that date and I was a perfect gentleman. I opened her door, I gave her a flower, I gave her the kind of night…well, the kind of night that you dreamed of, right?" She let out a little cry and it tore at my heart. I kissed her forehead and continued. "And I listened, Bella. Not to her words, although I did that too." Sort of. "I listened to her mind, to try to figure out who you were. This is going to piss you off, probably, but I wasn't interested in what she thought. I was interested in what _you _thought." She let out a huff of breath but let me continue.

"Being in her mind is the closest I'm ever probably going to get into yours. And do you know what I found there, Bella?"

"What?" she asked petulantly. At least she was fucking talking again.

"Exactly what you told me I would. She doubted that a guy like me would ever be with her. She thought I just felt obliged to take her out. She felt like we were worlds apart. Her thoughts sounded exactly like the stuff you spew at me on a regular basis. I…I wished that she could find a guy like Jason for herself."

She blinked at me in surprise. "Really?" Disbelief echoed in her tone.

I chuckled. "Yes, really. So, when we got to her house and she asked me in…she was so nervous and she could barely get the words out. I couldn't do that to you, of course, but I couldn't do that to her either. I knew she deserved better than just some one night stand with a virtual stranger. But, it took fucking balls for her to ask, Bella. And she was mortified when I said no. I felt terrible. Normally I could walk away from a girl without a second thought but not you…and not her either because she was nice and she reminded me of you."

"Then, I heard her thoughts and she wondered if I would kiss her. I couldn't reject her again, even if she didn't verbalize it. I would never do that to you and I couldn't do that to her either. Does that make sense?" I really hoped it fucking made sense to her because it sure didn't to me. I was fucking changing and I didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing.

"Yes," she whispered, not looking at me. I tilted her head back up and raised an eyebrow at her. She sighed. "Alright, if I had been Angela in that situation, I would have wanted a kiss too and I would have been heartbroken if you hadn't."

"I didn't mean to break my promise to you, Bella. I don't ever want to hurt you but I didn't want to hurt her either. I made a judgment call in that moment and it felt like the right thing to do. I'm sorry that I upset you though." Jesus Christ, I was a fucking Hallmark Card. I needed another ball check pronto. What were these fucking chicks doing to me? And the sad fucking thing is I wasn't bullshitting her either. Maybe all these hits to my head were finally getting to me.

"I'm sorry that I smashed your guitar," she mumbled. I laughed and loosened my hold on her, enough to pull her in for a hug. Thank fucking God she hugged me back.

"I can get a new one. I can't get a new you though. Are we okay?" I waited with baited breath for her answer.

"Yeah, we are." I leaned down to seal that with a kiss and she put her hand over my lips. "That doesn't mean I'm going to kiss you right after you kissed her." I rolled my eyes. That fucking figured.

"Alright, if you don't want to kiss, how about I feed you instead?"

"Blood?" she asked nervously.

"Blood," I replied.

She took a deep breath and blew it out. "Okay, let's do it."

* * *

**A/N Dinner time for Bella! How will it go? We'll see! Bella stopped, eventually, and listened to him. She may be growing a little too...maybe?**

**I was told this was a pretty dark chapter, in the beginning anyway, so hope it didn't disturb some of my more skittish readers. He's gotta eat, you know? **

**I have good news, I think. Smugward is on Twitter and he's already out of control. Women are throwing themselves at him and he's basking in the attention, shocker. He demanded that I tell you all his contact information, because he'd love even more flirting since Bella and I keep cockblocking him. He's Smugward, naturally.**

**I did an interview with Smugward on Twilighted, giving you some more background on him and Bella. The thread is in my profile and it's right at the top of page 4 so it's easy to find if you're interested.**

**Voting is underway for The Silence Of the Wolves contest. Go read and vote for your faves!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N What's this? An update a week early? Yep! I'm trying to stagger both my stories, so First & Ten will update next week and then this one again the week after. Hope you enjoy!**

Taste of Innocence Chapter 11

Bella followed me into the kitchen and sat at the kitchen table with an expectant look on her face. So now I was fucking expected to serve her? Of course I was. Why was that exactly? _Because you turned her so it's your job to feed her, jackass. _Listen here, motherfucker, I've been trying to get her to eat since she woke up. It's not my fault she's the most stubborn woman on the planet and the only vampire with morals. I could have dealt with one of those fucking things but both? Life was so unfair. _Yeah you have it really tough, don't you? _Fuck off, I hate you.

I made my way over the fridge and took out one of the packets of blood. What the fuck was I supposed to do with it now? Just let her suck it out of the plastic? Heat it up? Did I even have anything to heat it up with? I thought there were some old dishes in the cupboard but it's not like I ever fucking used them. Hell, I'd never fucking used a microwave when it came down to it. The only reason I had one was because the house came with it.

I turned and looked at Bella, sitting at the table with her hands folded looking up at me like a perfect little pupil. The things I wanted to teach her! But of course she wouldn't let me teach her anything fun and exciting. No, instead I got to teach her how to drink crappy packaged blood. There was something very wrong with that.

"Bella…" I felt like an idiot but I had no idea what the fuck to do. "How do I heat this up?"

She actually fucking giggled as she got up and went to the cupboards and started rooting around. "You haven't ever used a microwave?" she asked, disbelief in her tone as she came out with some blue plastic bowl I'd never seen before.

"Why the fuck would I have? I don't eat, remember? And they came out long after I ate my last human meal." I couldn't keep the irritation out of my tone. If she would just be cooperative for once in her fucking life I wouldn't have to learn to use one now either.

"Oh, yeah, I tend to forget you're over a hundred years old. Maybe because it's kind of gross to think about." Gross? What the fuck? There was nothing gross about me.

"Excuse me?"

She took the blood packet from my hand and wrinkled up her little nose at it. It would have been fucking cute if I could get beyond the fact that she just referred to me as gross. I mean, what the ever living fuck was that about?

"Can you open it?" How she could just fucking ignore me the way she did was beyond me. I ripped open the top and dumped the blood into the bowl as she sniffed and frowned. "It doesn't smell very appetizing." No shit it didn't.

"That's because it smells like plastic and whatever anti-coagulant they put in the blood to keep it from clotting." It would probably taste foul which served her right for being a giant pain in my ass. She made a little huffing noise and I silenced that shit with a glare. "Don't you even start. You wanted this, you've got it. Give it a fucking try before you turn up that pretty little nose at it."

She growled, which was pretty fucking hot, and took the bowl from me, opening the microwave and placing it inside. She frowned at the buttons for a moment before shrugging and programming it to heat for a minute. "I have no idea how long it takes to warm blood." It takes no time at all when you take it from some unsuspecting human. It's always the perfect fucking temperature.

The microwave beeped and she took it out and thrust the bowl at me. "Is this warm enough?" Like I would fucking know. The fact that she wasn't attacking the blood told me this plan was probably going to be an epic failure but she was just going to have to choke the shit down. That or let me go get her a much more delectable meal. I stuck my finger into the blood and it felt warm enough to me.

"It's fine," I told her, handing back the bowl and looking at the blood on my finger. It smelled wrong and I wasn't even remotely tempted by it but figured why the fuck not? I raised my finger to my lips and placed it on my tongue. Holy shit, now that was fucking gross! I could taste the plastic and the anti-clotting fluid way more than I could taste the blood.

Bella was watching me with open curiosity and it took everything I had in me not to let my disgust show on my face. I swallowed and gestured at her to give it a try. She looked dubious but unearthed a spoon from a drawer and scooped up some of the foul mixture. I looked on with interest as she took a deep breath, which caused her breasts to thrust forward in that lovely green tank top she was wearing, which in turn caused Edward Junior to stir again. She was fucking gorgeous and I was going to explode if I didn't have her soon.

She brought the spoon to her lovely lips and they parted as she tilted the utensil forward and took her first taste. A drop of blood fell from the corner of her mouth down her chin as she swallowed her first spoonful. I was so mesmerized by the sight that I barely registered her reaction to the taste. Foul or not, I wanted to lick the blood off her chin and keep right on licking the rest of her. Maybe I could open all the packets and dump them on her and lick every inch of that delectable skin. Maybe I could dump them on me and she could return the favor. Maybe…

"Blech!" she shouted, bringing me out of my daydreams, as fucking usual. I looked away from the bloody trail down her chin and focused on the look of utter horror on her beautiful face. "It's so disgusting! It tastes nothing like…" she broke off and looked away from the huge grin that was now stretched across my face.

"It tastes nothing like what?" I knew the answer but she was damn well going to say it.

"Nothing like that blood I got from you." Oh, Bella, you little master of understatement. Don't you mean that blood that you licked and sucked off me? It was only the hottest thing you ever did to me. Don't belittle it.

Of course I couldn't resist saying it. "Nothing like the blood you licked off me?" She growled but nodded her head. "That would be because it was fresh, for one thing. It also didn't have chemicals or plastic diluting the taste. Plus, you licked it off me, which no doubt made it taste even better." I chuckled at the look on her face at my extra comment. What? I taste incredible, everyone says so.

Bella shook her head and started stirring the foul blood in her bowl. "What are we going to do now?" she asked me, sounding defeated. That really fucking sucked. I wanted to lord my rightness over her and I couldn't even do that because she looked so incredibly sad. Still, I didn't know how to make it any plainer for her.

"You're going to have to give up this diet idea or come up with something else. I can't say that I've spent any time thinking of alternate blood sources." I kept my tone matter-of-fact, not wanting to show her how her sadness affected me. "For now, you're either going to have to finish that or I can go get you someone to eat."

She glared at me and shoved a spoonful of blood in her mouth. She made a sour face but swallowed it down anyway. I laughed at her reaction. She was so damn stubborn but for once it didn't irritate me. She was the one suffering this time, not me.

I sat across from her and watched as she forced each scoop into her mouth and swallowed it down. The look on her face was fucking priceless. She reminded me of a child being forced to eat their vegetables. I remembered how mutinous I'd once been about eating carrots. That was Bella in this moment. It was awesome.

"I'm glad you're taking such delight in my misery," Bella muttered, glowering at me as she shoved in another spoonful.

"Hey, this was your idea. If you would have just gone along with my plans you wouldn't be forced to endure such torture." I could deal with her being angry; in fact I fucking liked it. It was when she was sad that I felt like shit. She must never be sad, not with me.

"I'm not eating people," she said through clenched teeth.

"Well then, eat up, buttercup." She put the spoon back in the bowl and got more blood on it. I watched as a smirk stretched across her lips. What the fuck was she smiling about? The next thing I knew, the spoonful of blood was hitting me in the face. "What the fuck, Bella?"

She giggled. "You were enjoying my suffering just a little too much." Okay, maybe that was fucking true but did she have to throw blood at me? If it were good blood, I'd be all for it but not this disgusting shit that I had no interest in. Still, two could play at this game.

I matched her smirk with my own as I began to unbutton my shirt. "What are you doing?" she asked, surprise and something else in her tone. Desire maybe. Maybe, who the fuck was I kidding? Of course she wanted me; I was taking off my clothes after all.

"Well, baby, if you want to try to make that blood taste better by licking it off me, I'm willing to let you do it. How about you come over here and rub it all over my chest? I'll be your plate." I shrugged out of my button down and the black t-shirt I'd worn under it. Bella's eyes were focused on my now bare chest and I didn't bother to hide my laughter as she actually licked her lips. That broke her out of her trance and she looked up at me defiantly as she shoved another spoonful in her mouth. "Have it your way, then." I used my shirt to wipe the blood of my face. I wasn't tasting that crap again.

I leaned back in my chair and ran my left hand lazily up and down my chest. Bella followed my movement with her eyes but continued to drink her blood the boring way. What a fucking shame. Well, she wouldn't be able to choke that shit down week in and week out for eternity. She'd tire of it real fucking soon, if she hadn't already. I was so going to come home covered in blood after my next hunt. May as well show her what she was missing again, right?

I had to give the girl credit for sheer stubbornness though; she finished the whole damn bowl, pushing it away from her with a grunt. I unfolded myself from the chair and carried the bowl to the sink to wash it out. Not because I was suddenly Bella's fucking servant but because I didn't want that stench in the house any longer than it needed to be. It might eventually ruin my appetite and I couldn't have that, now could I?

I turned and saw Bella was staring at the refrigerator, seemingly lost in thought. I walked over to her and ran a hand through her silky hair. "What are you thinking?"

She grimaced but didn't pull away from me. "I'm trying to think of something else. There's got to be a better way to feed me than that." There was a way fucking better way, she just had to stop being a stubborn ass and embrace it. "And I'm still not killing people," she pointed out. Who was the fucking mind reader here, me or her?

I dropped in the chair next to her and continued to play with her hair, accidentally on purpose brushing my fingers over her neck and collar bone. She arched her neck so it was clear she wasn't bothered by my attention. "Well I'm open to suggestions." Okay, that wasn't fucking true but it sounded like something a supportive…whatever I was, would say. Boyfriend? That seemed too simplistic a term but I guess it applied.

She put her head on her hands and sat quietly for a few minutes while I continued to run my fingers through her hair. I wondered what that convoluted mind of hers would come up with next. No doubt it would be something unexpected, since she never failed to surprise me.

She turned to face me and bit her lip as she tried to put her thoughts into words. I wanted to shake her to ask her to fucking spit it out, because I was dying to know what she had in her strange mind, but I did my best to appear to remain patient. "Is it…do you think it's possible for me to feed from a human without killing them?"

There was progress and then there was fucking Progress! If she was that close, willing to bite a human, then she was damn close to being willing to kill one. She just wouldn't fucking admit it because that would mean admitting I was right and she was wrong.

"No, Bella. You saw your reaction when I came in wearing a little blood. The instant you tasted someone you would be lost to the bloodlust and they would die. Even if there were a way…it's not like we can erase people's minds. How would you go about explaining why you needed to bite them?" I tried to keep the glee out of my voice when I answered her. We were so close to her complete surrender to the life I'd given her. I could fucking taste it.

She scowled at me. "Damn it, why can't we do anything cool like controlling people's minds? What fun is being a vampire?" Or maybe we weren't so fucking close after all. Damn she was irritating.

"Well, there's the whole living forever thing." She snorted. "And being stronger and faster than anyone else." She still looked wholly unimpressed. "There's power in that, you know; in holding a life in your hands. It's fucking intoxicating." She just sighed and shook her head. Why must she be so fucking obstinate all the time? "And there's my whole mind reading thing, which is pretty damn cool if I do say so myself."

"Yeah, but that's just your thing. I don't have any ultra cool power."

"You may not have a power but you have a gift for being obstinate." She huffed at me again. "Being a vampire is fantastic if you just embrace all of its elements."

She put her hand on mine and squeezed. "Don't you dare tell me it's a gift again." Like I was that fucking stupid? But it was one. She'd see, someday. "So, drinking a human and leaving them alive is out." She sounded so disappointed. I wanted to hug her but I didn't think she'd be overly receptive right now.

"No, it's not possible. I don't even know if I'd be capable of that and I've been around a long time, as you so happily pointed out earlier." Speaking of which…"You never did tell me what you meant about it being gross."

She giggled again and I delighted in the sound, even though she was laughing at me. "It's just, if you think about it, you're old enough to be my great grandfather or something. That's pretty gross, you know?" Alright, I guess I could kind of understand that, but still, I didn't want her associating me with some decrepit old fucker.

"Do I look like a grandfather of any kind?" I asked, my voice a silky purr as I spoke softly in her ear. Her crimson eyes looked a little dazed as she shook her head. I loved the effect I had on her, it was fucking intoxicating. "I'm forever stuck at 22, Bella. I look like I'm in my twenties, I react like I'm in my twenties. I'm in perfect physical shape and will be forever. I can make you scream my name for hours on end. Could an old man do that?" Another head shake. "Then I don't think you'll ever mistake me for your great grandfather."

She continued to look rather unfocused so I decided to try to bring her back around to the topic at hand. "Where did you come up with the idea that you could drink from someone without killing them anyway?"

She shook her head as if to clear it and then answered me. "_True Blood_." Oh crap, another of those damn shows I'd bought her. That fucking figured.

"More TV vampires?" I didn't keep the disdain out of my voice this time. "After you precious Angel failed you with his diet plan, I'd think you'd be ready to let go of the idea that Hollywood could teach you how to be a better vampire." Her hand left mine and she hit my left shoulder with a resounding smack. "Damn it, woman, must you hit me all the fucking time?" It didn't hurt but it was only a matter of time before she really lost her shit and full on attacked me. I had to nip this in the bud now.

She looked instantly contrite. "I'm sorry. I don't know what happens. It's like I get mad and I don't really think about it and the next thing I know I'm hitting you. I've never hit anyone until I met you." She sounded both mystified and somehow still slightly amused at the same time.

"Well I'm so glad I could bring out your violent side," I told her sarcastically. I was half kidding though; I liked the fire inside my Bella. It was extremely arousing and Edward Junior was making himself known yet again.

She had the grace to look a little abashed. "Sorry, it's just frustrating. I want to find a way to eat without hurting someone." I rolled my eyes and she lifted her hand again. I raised an eyebrow at her and she dropped her hand down and gave me an adorable pout.

"Sorry." Ha, she didn't sound sorry that she nearly hit me, only that I'd made her stop and think before she did so. She was so fucking cute it killed me.

"So, on _True Blood_ vampires can drink from people without killing them?"

She lit up at my words. Fuck, I was in for it now. "Yes! It's actually very sexual; it makes the person feel good. They often feed and have sex at the same time."

Well fuck, we were in some murky territory here. "Uh, well I did that to you and if you recall it didn't feel very good." I cringed, waiting to see what kind of response that would bring from her.

"No, it didn't," she agreed sourly. "And since I don't think vampires are going to come out of the closet and drink synthetic blood, _True Blood_ isn't going to be very useful." Thank God for small fucking favors. Maybe she wouldn't torture me with that fucking show anytime soon.

"We'll still have to watch it though. You'd like it, there's lots of sex." Edward Junior perked up that and I have to admit she caught my attention as well. Perhaps it would give Bella some fucking ideas if we watched it together. Ha, _fucking ideas_.

"Yes, we just might have to do that," I agreed, running my finger over her hand, tracing it idly. "So, if that show is out for feeding you as well, I guess we'll have to look to reality." I was delighted with this idea and it was clear in my tone.

She frowned and then all of a sudden her face cleared and she shone as brightly as the sun. "No! There's another show and another idea!" Oh my fuck, what was I in for now? She popped up out of her chair and grabbed my hand, completely overcome with excitement. If I wasn't so fucking terrified about what she'd come up with to torture me now I would be completely overcome by her beauty.

"Come on, Edward!" I allowed her to pull me back into the living room and push me onto the couch. "I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner," she murmured as she dug in the Best Buy bag. Holy crap, I'd done this shit to myself, all in the name of trying to get laid. I was such a stupid motherfucker. She went to the DVD player and inserted the disk, flipping the TV on and plopping down next to me with the remote. She already worked that fucking thing like a pro.

"What are we watching now?" If it was Buffy again I would have to kill someone.

"_Vampire Diaries,"_ she announced with relish as the FBI warning shit flashed on the screen. Oh my hell, why had I bought that one again? I remember thinking about how ridiculous it was, some emo vampire journaling about his pain, but I wanted to make her happy. Instead I'd made myself miserable. I was such a fucking moron. Everything backfired on me with this woman, everything!

This time around I don't even fight the urge to roll my fucking eyes as I hear the voiceover say, "I'm a vampire and this is my story." Fucking Christ, that's what I've forgotten to do all these years. Write my life story in a diary, bitching and moaning about the woes of my existence. Where the fuck were all the happy vampires in the world? Where was I, damn it? Maybe I should fucking write a good vampire story, none of this crying bullshit.

Bella was next to me and I decided if I was going to suffer through this, at least I was going to have my fucking hands on her while I did it. I pulled her closer and she rested her head on my bare chest. I breathed in her flowery scent and wrapped my arm around her.

"Who are these fucktards in the car?" I demanded. Before she could answer, the vehicle slammed into someone standing in the middle of the fucking road. Well, hello Mr. Vampire. Jesus, how fucking original. Yep, lay there and then eat him when he comes to check on you. Well, at least that vampire ate someone. I actually laughed as the guy's body slammed into the car and the girl started screaming when she took in his bloody neck. Clearly emo diary fucker wasn't out there killing the boring boy and girl. Must be the brother she mentioned before. Damon. I could probably get to like that guy if he kept that shit up.

Ahh there's the emo one, writing away in his fucking diary. "Who is this girl he has to know?" I wondered aloud, then wondered why the fuck I was wondering in the first place.

"Just watch," Bella hissed. Well excuse me for thinking we could bond over this atrocity. My question was answered anyway when we cut to the girl writing in her diary. Naturally. These two are a perfect fucking pair. Maybe they can have hot nights together wherein they read passages to one another about their fucking pain.

"She's pretty hot," I informed Bella. She was too…in fact she looked quite a bit like my Bella. Maybe she saw it too because she actually smiled at me before turning her head back to the TV. "Oh good, another clueless parent. That's original," I muttered. Bella elbowed me and kept on watching.

"Her parents were killed in a car accident," she told me. Right, no making fun of the dead parents, God forbid.

"Who's that girl claiming to be a witch?" Fucking witches, they were everywhere. It explained everything, why I couldn't resist Bella to save my life.

"Bonnie, she's Elena's best friend."

"She's annoying." She was too, she'd been on screen for one minute and I already wanted to drain her. I also wanted to kill the blond bitch that came up and asked about her friend like she wasn't even there.

"What the fuck is vamp boy doing out in the daylight? I thought all vamps died in the sun in Hollywood lore?"

"He wears a special ring that makes the sun not work on him." Of course he fucking does. At least I could see where Bella got the mind erasing idea now. I have to admit, that would be a pretty fucking cool power. Mind control…I could actually get Bella to eat like a normal fucking vampire and she couldn't do shit about it. Of course that wasn't my gift; instead I got to read everyone but her. Real fucking fair.

"All the girls want the vampire boy," I told Bella, laughing. That was true to life, finally. And he wasn't even that hot, compared to other vampires I knew. One in particular. "Why the fuck would a vampire go to high school anyway?" Seriously, that shit was just stupid.

"Will you just watch?" she hissed. "He wants to be near Elena. She looks just like the girl he loved once, the one who turned him. Stop asking questions!"

Right, I forgot we were watching this for my educational purposes. And we're back to the fucking diary, in a graveyard of all places. That's right, emo girl, nobody feels your pain the way you feel your pain. "Oh Christ, what the fuck is this? A bird and fog? Could they get anymore heavy handed? That is the lamest fucking fog I have ever seen in my life. They must have had a special on dry ice that day." Bella shushed me but really, that was such bullshit.

There was the gay fucking sunlight protecting ring. That was just beyond stupid. "Uh oh, she cut herself. What the fuck? Another show where they get ugly around blood? What's with the fucking veins? I hate this shit, Bella." I was getting all worked up and Bella just laughed at me.

"It's just their way of showing that they're vampires," she informed me between giggles.

"It's bullshit. More racist fucking bullshit. I'm suing whoever made this show and your precious Joss for giving vampires a bad name." Maybe I would buy the fucking TV studio and demand they change that crap.

"You're cute when you're all pissed off about TV," she told me. I was slightly mollified by that so I sat back to watch more of the retarded show.

"Why do we care about this bitch in the bar?" Really, she was kind of sexy though her face was a little pointy for my taste and she was clearly evil as hell. Stringing along two dudes and popping pills. "I hope she dies soon," I told Bella. Hell, I wanted every girl to die thus far. Maybe with the exception of the Bella lookalike who was being stalked by the vampire.

"That's Vicki, she's got issues." No shit she had issues, she was a druggie bitch who needed to die.

"Holy crap, did he read her precious diary?"

"Of course not, Stefan is a good guy," Bella told me snottily. Fuck, I would have read that shit in a heartbeat. Maybe I should buy her a damn journal to write down all her secret thoughts. I ran my hand up and down Bella's bare arm, concentrating more on her than the drama on my screen. Who gave a fuck if the ex saw his former flame on the arm of vamp boy?

"Why's he being nice to the guy hanging out with his ex?" If Bella was on the arm of some other guy I would break him in half and take her back. Stupid fucking TV show. Nothing was remotely realistic. Well, other than the fact that all the girls were hot for vamp boy.

"Matt's just a good person and he wants Elena to be happy." Matt was a fucking wuss then. He should be fighting for his woman.

"The teacher is a prick. Stefan should fucking kill him instead of correcting him; though I do like him embarrassing him in front of the class." I would have broken all his bones and bled him dry for belittling my woman but TV vampires were ridiculously tame. Bella just nodded, at least she finally agreed with something I said.

And now, naturally, they were all partying in the woods, possibly close to the graveyard by the looks of it. Yeah, that made perfect fucking sense. Oh well, happy hunting, bad vampire. Please take out one of the annoying bitches. "Why haven't we seen that guy eat?" I demanded. "Isn't that why we're watching this ridiculous fucking show?"

"Just wait!" she said, jabbing me in the chest with her pointer finger.

"Fuck, fine!" She clearly wasn't as hot for this fucker as she was her precious Angel because she wasn't softening her tone whenever he appeared on the screen. Drama, drama, drama, blah, blah, blah. Hell yes, that bitchy, slutty girl is wandering in the woods alone. Kill her! And the fog comes rolling in again. Yep, definitely got a deal on their dry ice. At least it's fucking night time and makes more sense now, although it still looks cheesy as fuck.

Bella was completely oblivious to my disinterest in this lame show. That or she was just fucking ignoring me. That was more likely. "Haha, burn!" Vamp boy told the blond girl that he was not going to get with her and walked away. I might like him a tiny bit more because of that and that alone.

"Damn it, why did she have to live?" The vampire did attack druggie girl but let her live to see another day? What the fuck was that all about? Bella just ignored me. That was fucking irritating too.

"Ahh here we go." Bad vampire in the house. Maybe he could kill diary boy and have a little fun with the rest of the bitches in town. "Oh hell no, he's the one causing that retarded fog? I can't get on board with him now." I did rather enjoy him taunting his girly brother though. Maybe he could be redeemed, if he finished off that girl and stopped playing with dry ice.

"Did he just ask him the last time he had something stronger than a fucking squirrel? Is that what you're trying to fucking tell me? Animals?" She nodded against my chest. Jesus fucking Christ. I took the remote off Bella's lap and hit the pause button. Bella sat up and turned to face me. "You want to eat a squirrel? That's not remotely enough blood."

She shook her head. "I wasn't thinking of squirrels, but other bigger animals."

"Like what? A neighbor's dog?"

A look of pure horror washed over her face. "Of course not! I would never eat someone's pet!" Right, because that was what was wrong with this fucking conversation?

"What then? You want me to go the zoo and grab you a gorilla or some shit?" I didn't know how the fuck I was supposed to manage something like that. The fact that I was contemplating it just pissed me off too. She needed to suck it up and start eating like a real fucking vampire.

"No, Edward, I don't want you break into the zoo."

"Well, what then? What animal are you going to attempt to eat?" This was really fucking unbelievable.

She rolled her eyes. "I don't know, I was thinking like a cow or something. I liked hamburgers and steak as a human so maybe I'd enjoy cow blood as a vampire."

I closed my eyes. Maybe this was all a fucking dream. Maybe I'd somehow managed to find a way to sleep after all these years and I was imagining everything she said. Or maybe I'd had a psychotic break. That was more fucking likely. "There are no cows in New York City, Bella." I could get her fucking squirrels or rats or cats or dogs, but there was nothing else around the city.

She put her hand on my knee and despite the insanity around her I felt myself responding to her touch. Naturally. She was using her witch voodoo to bend me to her will again. I looked into her crimson eyes and of course I was fucking lost, as usual. "I was thinking that maybe we could leave the city."

"What? What the fuck do you mean, leave the city?" I lived here. My home was here. My food was here. She had to be fucking kidding.

"Well, if we went somewhere less populated, I could go outside again." I heard the wistfulness in her tone and felt a twinge of sympathy start to well up in me. She hated being confined here and I couldn't blame her for that. "If we went somewhere where there were woods and wildlife, I could hunt and see if that was a viable alternative."

"And what the fuck am I supposed to eat?" I asked, just waiting for her to fucking tell me to try her diet again. That shit was not going to fucking happen.

"I didn't say we had to move far away from the city, just somewhere where there are some forests and farms and stuff. Like maybe New Jersey."

"New Jersey?" I didn't try to keep the distaste out of my tone. "What the fuck would I do in New Jersey?"

"The same thing you do here! Get on the computer, play music, watch TV, hit on me, hunt…what does it matter where we are?" Her ruby eyes pled with me and I felt myself weakening. "We can find a place that's just an hour away, right? You could come into the city to hunt whenever you needed to."

It didn't sound that bad when she put it that way. She could have a little freedom. I could see her beauty in the sunshine and we could go running through the woods together. Was I actually fucking considering this? Yes, it seemed that I was because I was a pussy-whipped motherfucker and I was under her spell.

She took my hand in hers. "Edward?"

"What?" I still had some thinking to do. I wasn't just going to agree to move to fucking New Jersey because she asked. I still had some control of this situation damn it.

"If we go to New Jersey and I try animals and it doesn't work…" she trailed off, looking down at my hand as she played with my fingers.

I tilted her head up so I could look into her eyes. "If it doesn't work, what?"

She sighed and I watched as her red eyes flashed with resolve. "If it doesn't work, I'll do it your way."

"My way?" Did she fucking mean what I thought she meant? Was I one huge step closer to winning her over to my side?

"If I am unable to survive on animal blood, I'll eat people," she told me, her eyes still meeting mine. There wasn't one sign on her face that she was lying and I knew she couldn't lie to me any better than I could lie to her.

"You swear?" I kept my excitement out of my tone, just barely.

"Yes."

"Looks like we're moving to New Jersey," I told her.

* * *

**A/N Sweet deluded boy thinks he's actually winning! We'll let him hold onto the illusion for a couple weeks!**

**Speaking of winning, Smugward has been nominated for The Adonis Award, best use of Edward, at The Shimmer Awards. I think you can imagine just how excited he is about the nomination. He feels the name says it all and that he should automatically win. But he needs your votes and I promised him that I'd pass the message on to you. QBward also got a nomination in best quote, so thanks to those that put my stories up. I'm humbled by it, unlike my vampire.**

**Smugward also gave an interview to Sparking Citrus which you can find at www(dot)sparklingcitrus(dot)weebly(dot)com. If you have any questions for him, feel free to pass them my way. He's also got a long interview in his thread at Twilighted. If you guys want me to post it here, let me know.**


	12. Interview With The Vampire

**A/N Yes, it's me again! Several of you requested the interview and have issues seeing it on Twilighted, so I brought it here for you. Sorry it's not a real chapter but it's long enough to be! This was conducted right after Edward's date with Angela, prior to his hunt and returning home to Bella. I hope you enjoy getting to know a bit more about our crazy vamp. He answers several questions that I know some of you have wondered about. Should you still have more, feel free to send them in comments or a PM and I'll run them by him soon.  
**

**Interview With The Vampire**

Smugward throws himself into a chair and glares at me. "Why the fuck am I here? Don't you realize that you're interrupting some quality time with my girl?"

"_I highly doubt it's the kind of quality time you've been angling for since she woke up. Surely you can spare a little time for your readers." He gives a world weary sigh in reaction to my words. "They're all women, you know."_

He smirks and straightens up in the recliner. "Well why didn't you say so? What do my ladies want to know?"  
_  
"How old were you and when were you turned?"_

"Boring…where are the good questions?"

"_Edward…"_

"Fine! I was turned in 1923, born in 1901, so I look 22 but I'm actually 109, well almost 109. My birthday's in June."

"_How old were you when you lost your virginity?"_

He greets this question with a panty dropping smile. "That's more like it! Who asked that question?"

"_Starla, she's a bit of a perv."_

"I like her already."

"_Just answer the question, Edward."_

"I was 14 and I banged one of my mother's friends. She taught me quite a bit."

"_You lost the V card to a cougar? Was she married?"_

He chuckles sardonically. "Yeah, I believe she was, so?"

"_So, don't you think there's something wrong with that?"_

"Sure, on her part. I was just a fumbling teenager, what the fuck did I know? I was a horny kid and she was hot and of course she wanted me. What more is there?"

"_You're incorrigible, you know that?"_

"Yes, but you like me that way. So do they; even if they do bitch about me kissing a girl when I was just trying to be a nice guy."

"_You're still pissed about that?"_

He glares at me. "Of course I am! I was trying do the right thing and I get yelled at for it? And that's by the lovely women who seemed to be so fond of me. I don't even want to think about Bella's reaction."

"_Yeah, I just bet you don't." _

"Can we get on with it? She's waiting and probably getting sulky that it's taking me so long. She's pretty irritated about being confined to the house all day. Of course, if she'd just embrace her new life she could leave with me but no. Contrary women, all of you!"

"_Alright, no need to rant. Starla also wants to know if you like the vampire shows Bella's made you watch?"_

"Are you shitting me? Have you seen what Hollywood does to us vampires? I haven't watched any of the other shows yet although Bella has brought it up a time or two. I'm holding firm on this though, I'm not watching anymore of that racist propaganda!" He shakes his head emphatically.

"_Alright, calm down! You mentioned in the last chapter that you were going to try feeding Bella her packaged blood soon. Will you be willing to at least try the alternative diet?"_

"Why the fuck should I? I don't have any issues with killing people and the people I kill all deserve it, with the exception of Bella. But her death was a gift on my part, even though she still refuses to see it that way. She can drink her boring microwave blood, I'll take mine straight from the source." He chuckles. "I consider it gourmet dining."

"_Would you buy Bella an island?"_

He snorts. "Please…what do you think that girl would do if I bought her an island? She would accuse me of just looking for a way to get her to fuck me and then she'd probably beat on me for awhile. I have no idea where this sudden penchant for beating the shit out of me came from but that shit needs to stop. I pick my battles and I'd rather buy her something that benefits me…like her stupid vampire shows or some books or something. She likes simple shit…I don't get it."

"_Well if you won't buy Bella an island, how about Starla?"_

"Tell Starla that I'll buy her an island the day that she figures out a way to get Bella to stop cockblocking me. Or you, since you're the one writing the shit and leaving me with blue balls for hours on end."

"_Hey…don't blame me."_

"Why the hell not?" He crosses his arms and glares at me, muttering something about cockblocking writers.

"_Because I created you and I brought Bella into your life. I could kill you or send her away…"_

"Not funny, Amy."

"_I thought it was."_

"Of course you did. You laugh at your own words all the time."

"_I know, it's ridiculous. But I tend to think they're your words, they just filter through me. Your voice can't really be in my head…if it is I need therapy."_

"I'll foot the bill and send you into co-counseling with Bella and Angela. You all have issues."

"_But you're just perfect right?"_

_He raises an eyebrow at me and smirks. "Sorry I asked; that was a dumb question."_

"True."

"_Moving on…you had a lot of interest in what Bella's dream date was, what is yours?"_

He frowns and leans back in his chair. "I never really did the date thing until that night with Angela and I can't say I've given it a hell of a lot of thought. I suppose, though, that while I was waiting for Bella to wake up, I often fantasized of the two of us going out to a crowded bar. Every guy in the place would be admiring my girl but she would only have eyes for me. I'd listen to their thoughts and pick out the two most depraved and set her loose. Watch her lure them away to a dark alley. I'd give her a few minutes to tease them and then join her. She'd take one, I'd take the other. We'd drain them side by side, our eyes locked. The instant we let them go, we'd attack each other. I'd fuck her right there against the wall next to our victims."

"_That's pretty gross, Edward."_

He rolls his eyes. "Gross to a human, yes, but to a vampire, it's all kinds of hot. The thought of watching her hunt…fuck, I'm getting hard again. Why do you insist on getting me all worked up and then leaving me hanging?"

"_I'd be happy to relieve you…"_

"With Bella?" he interrupts impatiently.

"_Well no, not yet."_

_He lets out a low growl and gives me a look and I decide not finish my offer. Apparently nobody but Bella will suffice. "Are you worried about Alice being sure that Bella is alive?"_

"Fuck no. I took care of that shit and there's no way that girl is going to find her. It's fine that she thinks Bella's alive, the cops do too. They thinks he's with that douchebag Jacob in the Caribbean or some damn thing."

"_Will you ever let Bella see her father again?"_

He sighs and tugs on his hair. "Look, I want to give her whatever she wants and that's probably at the top of her fucking list since she has skewed priorities. But the truth of the matter is, she can't see him for at least 6 months or a year, until her bloodlust is under control. If she killed him, she'd never forgive me and I can't have that. I don't know that she'll be able to ever physically see him again. She's changed too much and he's a cop and the last thing I need is the police on my ass for anything. Maybe she can call him…after she's been away for awhile and when she's completely wrapped up in me and I don't have to worry about her leaving."

"_You're pretty damn smitten, aren't you?"_

"Shut the fuck up and ask me more questions. I want to get back to my girl."

"_Will you ever go to high school or college and try to live a normal life?"_

"Uh, why would I do that? I didn't like school when I was a human, why go now? I can learn anything I want on my own."

"_What about Bella? She likes school."_

He sighs. "If she really wanted to go school, someday, then I'd probably go with her. I'm not leaving her alone with all those horny motherfuckers."

"_You're really scared of losing her."_

He scowls at me. "I'm not scared of anything."

"_Sure, Edward."_

He stands. "I'm leaving."

"_Sit back down or I'll cockblock you for 10 more chapters."_

He sits but the scowl remains. "You'll probably do that anyway."

"_You may be right, but I'll feel bad about it."_

"Bitch."

"_You love me."_

"I don't love anyone."

"_Yes you do."_

"Shut the fuck up! I don't l…you know, Bella."

"_Did I say her name? I was referring to yourself. God knows you love yourself. You're the one who leapt to Bella. That tells me something."_

"I'll tell you something if you don't get a fucking move on."

"_You're pretty hot when you're pissed off."_

"I'm pretty hot all the time." He gives me that half grin and I'm forced to admit that is quite true.

"_How old is Bella?"_

"21 going on 53. She's so fucking serious and moody all the time. She needs to loosen up and act her age."

"_Do you ever worry about what would happen if Victoria were to see/meet Bella?"_

"Why the fuck would she do that? I haven't seen that crazy bitch in decades." He glances around the room suspiciously. "You're not going to bring her around are you?"

"_Who, me? Why would I do something like that?"_

"To fuck with me, because you clearly get off on it."

"_At least one of us is getting off."_

"I fucking hate you."

"_Keep it up, 20 chapters." He kicks the coffee table into the wall. "Destroying the furniture is not going to get you laid any sooner."_

"What will?"

"_Compromising with your girl."_

"Compromise my ass. She wants me to change who I am."

"_You want her to change who she is. Can't you find some middle ground?"_

"With her? Probably not, but I'm sure as fuck going to have fun trying."

"_Do you think Bella has some kind of gift, like your mind reading?"_

He looks thoughtful for a minute. "Well, I've accused her of being a witch on several occasions. Let's face it; she has to have some kind of ability if she's able to resist me. What that is, I can't say. I can't hear her, which sucks a lot of the time, let me tell you. Couldn't you have even given me that much?"

"_Nope."_

"You're evil."

"_Perhaps you should kill me then."_

"I just might, after you write me a steamy sex scene."

"_All the more incentive not to."_

_He growls ferociously. "Alright, let's move on! Oh crap, I really don't want to ask you this."_

"What?"

"_It's gonna piss you off."_

"I'm already pissed off because you're an evil, cockblocking bitch. How much worse could you be?"

"_Alright then, have you ever been with a man?"_

"What the fuck? Who asked that?"

"_Starla again."_

"She's going on my future killing list along with you and Rose and that guy that hurt Bella whose name she refuses to give me."

"_That's not very nice; she's quite fond of you."_

"Yet she wants to know if I've fucked a guy?"

"_Don't ask me, there are a lot of ladies that are into the guy on guy thing in this fandom."_

"Well they can look elsewhere. I don't do men. I don't mind them imagining fucking me because hey…look at me, but I don't let them touch Edward Junior."

"_Do you plan on flirting with more nurses in order to get Bella blood if she likes the packaged stuff?"_

"Absolutely not. Look, Angela was a nice girl but she was a special case. If Bella takes to this blood bank shit, I'll just break in and get it for her. I'm not going on anymore dates unless they're with my girl."

"_Have you ever thought about trying animal blood?"_

"Why would I? You mean to eat? Like what, a rat? Fuck no. I eat humans. That is all, forever. Don't you be trying to change me like Bella is. You will all lose and you don't get the benefit of losing that she gets, namely fucking me. Sorry!" He says all this with an impish grin.

"_Why did you even have cologne? Isn't your natural scent amazing enough?"_

"Everything about me is amazing enough. It is just one of the many human masks I can and do slip into when I'm going to be around people. If I smell like everyone else, I must be a fucking normal guy. Well, as normal as someone that looks like me could ever be considered. Excellent question!" He nods with approval.

_"Do vampires brush their teeth?"_

"Do we have to? No, but again, it's all part of the pretense. If I smell minty fresh, that continues the perception that I'm a human. Not gonna lie, it tastes pretty gross and I only do it when I feel it's truly necessary."

"_Have you learned your lesson about keeping your phone on when you're making out with Bella? It's one less cockblock!"_

He huffs and crosses his arms. "Like it really fucking matters? You know that you'll just find another way to cockblock me." He points at me accusingly. "I think your whole purpose for writing this fic is torture me. What the fuck have I ever done to you?"

"_I don't want to torture you! I just want to let everyone experience you and the fact is; you're the most fun when you're not getting any and you're all obsessed about it."_

"You are now on the top of my kill list."

"_30 chapters!"_

Fear flits across his face. "I'll be good! You're off the list."

"_Good, take Starla off too; she's just curious about you."_

He throws up his hands. "Fine! Anybody else? Perhaps I should just knit them all sweaters instead of taking their lives." He mutters something about being neutered but I'm ignoring him.

"_Is human blood less satisfying now that you've tasted Bella's blood?_

He tilts his head and thinks about this. "Yes and no. I mean, I don't think any blood will ever taste as good as hers did, unless I take someone pure again. And that would really piss Bella off, so obviously I can't do it for the next century or so. I'll bring her around to my side eventually, on the whole killing scum thing, but I don't think I could justify another innocent. The blood I do take, though…it's still good. Like, I'd compare it to eating a steak. It's always good, but once in your life maybe you get to go to that fancy steakhouse that's rated tops in the country. That's the best and you appreciate it but you don't swear off all other steak just because it isn't as good as the once in a lifetime steak. Bella's my once in a lifetime steak." He glares at me. "Don't you fucking tell her I compared her to a steak either. She'd have my ass, and not in the good way."

"_She won't hear it from me! Do you have any mementos from your human life?"_

"Like shit I kept all the way from the early 1900's? Fuck…let's see. I have my grandfather's cane. That's not exactly a happy memento but I keep it to remind me of the one time in my life when I was powerless. Never again." His voice is rather frightening right now. "I have some tickets from the 1919 World Series, the whole Black Sox scandal. Carlisle and I were there. Baseball was the only thing we had in common."

"_You sound pretty bitter when you talk about your family."_

"Then don't make me fucking talk about them. You know I hate that shit and it doesn't matter."

"_Bella would beg to differ."_

"She thinks family is as important to everyone as they are to her. She's wrong," he announced flatly. "Are we almost done?

"_We're getting closer. How long after leaving Victoria did you learn to control your vampire strength and start sleeping with humans?"_

He smirks. "Another sex question. Starla I presume?" I nod and he chuckles. "She totally wants me. She has good taste. I learned to control my strength within about 8 months of my change. My mind reading and my desire to be the fuck away from that crazy bitch Victoria helped. As to the first time I fucked a human? 8 months after my change. The first thing I did after I got away from Victoria was find a girl. I wanted to fuck someone without worrying they were going to take a bite out of me or rip off an appendage. Victoria was into some kinky shit."

"_And you don't enjoy kinky shit?"_

"Of course I do, but not at the expense of my body. What if she broke me irreparably? What if she managed to scar me?" A look of horror washed across his face.

"_Yes, God forbid you not look perfect."_

"Damn right."

"_Have you met Tanya?"_

"I haven't had the pleasure. Is she your sister?"

"_Uh, no. I don't have a sister."_

"That doesn't surprise me. You're too into the male mind. You probably don't get girls."

"_And you do? Why do you keep fucking up with Bella then?"_

"Because you made her insane, that's why!" He's standing and getting ready to leave again. I raise my own eyebrow and he growls but sits back down.

"_Alright, we won't delve much more into your psyche."_

"Good."

"_But I would counter that you're the one that makes her insane." The growl got louder and I held up a hand in peace. _

"_How many women have you slept with? Starla asked and then took it back but clearly it's on her mind."_

"Pervy. I like her. The answer would probably disturb her, so I will refrain from pinning it down. But keep in mind; I've been alive for over a century. Clearly, the number would sound bad but when you add up days alive, really it's minimal."

"_Are you concerned with Bella's newborn strength and the fact that she could totally kick your ass for whatever it is you're about to go do?"_

His eyes twinkle. "No. Bella's a gentle soul, despite her penchant for hitting and kicking me lately. She won't take it too far and honestly she doesn't really know she's stronger than me at this point. I sure as fuck am not going to tell her."

"_What are you planning that will piss her off?"_

He chuckled. "That's for me to know and you to find out. If you ever stop interviewing me and sit down and write the chapter, then they'll know."

"_This is so much fun though! I like playing with you!"_

"I know you do, but I belong to another." He gives me the panty dropping smile for good measure.

"_Jackass."_

"_Do you believe in marriage and soul mates?"_

An indecipherable look comes over his face. "Uh…I don't like that question."

"_Why not?"_

"Because it makes me uncomfortable."

"_Why?"_

"You know why."

"_I may know why but they don't."_

"I don't want to answer."

"_The sooner you answer, the sooner you can go home to Bella."_

"Ugh. Alright!" He buries his hands in his hair and looks like he's about to start ripping it out. "I didn't believe in either but now I'm not so sure." He's looking down instead of at me.

"_Because of Bella."_

"Yes! Fuck! I don't know. I mean, there's something more there than I've ever felt before but who the fuck knows if it's soul mates? Maybe she's just the coolest chick I've ever met and that's that. Why do we have to put a fucking label on it?"

"_We don't. What about marriage?"_

"Marriage is for humans."

"_So you don't want to marry Bella?"_

"Yes! NO! Fuck, I don't know. Marriage is for humans."

"_That's your story…"_

"And I'm sticking to it. Next question!"

"_Do you believe vampires mate for life?"_

"Fuck, that's as bad as the last question! What the hell?" He's positively glowering now, his handsome face pretty terrifying. The things I do for you people.

"_Hey you're the one who keeps thinking of eternity with her. That sounds like mating for life to me."_

"Labels! I refuse to be fucking labeled. We are what we are and we'll figure it out as we go. We don't need rings and labels to define us."

"_That was a pretty astute response."_

"I'm brilliant. You should know this about me by now."

"_You do a lot of stupid things." _

"I'm learning as I go. Besides, my stupid moves have brought Bella to me and she is mine and I'm hers. So I would say that I'm doing alright."

"_Yes, you are." I attempt to placate him. "Have you met the Volturi?"_

"No. Victoria told me about them and I've heard mumblings here and there but I haven't caught their attention and I intend to keep it that way. I stay the fuck off the radar."

"_Would you consider doing a scene with Bella with you as her submissive?"_

"Starla…you freaky chick. Can you kick Amy out and start writing this story?"

"_That's not very nice, Edward. I made you and I can destroy you."_

"You wouldn't, though. You like me too much."

"_Most of the time I do. But if you're going to enlist other writers…"_

"Yeah, yeah, play the sensitive card after you cockblock me for days on end. Let me cry you a river. Oops, I can't."

"_Don't be a dick, Edward."_

"I may as well be one since I can't use it."

"_40 chapters."_

"Fuck! Fine…the question, would I be a submissive in a scene with Bella? Hell to the yes, I'd be anything that made Bella get naked and hopefully fuck me. At the very least, she'd be touching and ordering me to touch her and that would be hot as fuck. Sign me up. I'll give you Amy's address and you can take her out and take me over."

"_50 chapters."_

"Starla won't make me wait 50 chapters. I'm on her side now."

"_Well I wish you luck with that. What makes you think she could take me? Or that she'd want to."_

"She wants me to get laid, she's told you that. She'll snap just like I'm going to with too many cockblocks."

"_Hilariously, she wants you to ask me how many chapters until I take the cockblock off."_

He rolls his eyes. "Like I should bother asking that, you keep raising it."

"_Well I was mostly joking, though your attitude is making me consider making it so."_

"You'll lose all your readers if you do that."

"_You never know, some of them might enjoy me torturing you. Starla did bring up some S&M there."_

"Yeah, whatever."

"_Ask me."_

"Why should I?"

"_So we can get this interview done? We're actually near the end and this is about to be a chapter size. I could publish it as chapter 12."_

"People would hate that. Keep it here."

"_No, they actually asked for it."_

"Fine…how many more chapters until you let me have my way with Bella?"

"_Less than any that I've threatened above."_

He perks up considerably. "Less than 10?"

"_Very likely, unless you become wordy."_

"I'll shut the fuck up then."

"_Not yet, we have a few more questions."_

"Okay."

"_You're suddenly very agreeable."_

"My cock is doing a dance of joy right now. I'm a happy man. Shoot."

"_Besides playing a vigilante and having sex, what the hell have you been doing the past 90 years?_

He shrugs. "Listening to and composing music. Learning languages. Running my business. I like baseball. Acquiring classic cars, fixing them up. Reading. Shit normal people do I guess. I'm a loner, naturally, but I find ways to occupy my time. I take the time to master all new technologies that come my way. I'm a whiz on the computer."

"_I just bet you are." He grins playfully._

"_Why do you enjoy pissing Bella off so much? I get that seeing her pissed off is a turn on, but it hasn't really worked to get into her pants. Will you ever change tactics?"_

He steeples his fingers in thought. "First, never discount just how fucking hot Bella is when she's pissed off. And though I haven't gotten all the way into her pants, I have gotten her shirt and bra off and had one hell of a hot make out session. She's volatile and when I push her that passion comes to life and she expends it on me. Just like I want it. I suppose if it doesn't work, eventually I'll try something else. I did just spend two days talking to the girl, so it's not like I only piss her off."

"_Have you always been so cocky? Even when you were human?"_

He raises an eyebrow. "What you call cocky, I call confident. And yes, I have always been this way. I suppose I'm probably a bit worse now. When you combine invulnerability and mind reading with confidence it does tend to make one feel surer of himself."

"_That's an understatement."_

"Hey you wrote me this way."

"_Why were you so nice to Angela? Was it really all for Bella or is there a softer side of you that you're not even aware of?_

He shifts uncomfortably. "Angela is a nice girl and she deserves someone to treat her well. That fell to me, through Bella. Was it all for her? No…primarily it was but I did actually like Angela. She has one of those rare, kind minds. But if I'm being honest, I wouldn't have looked twice at her if it wasn't for needing to get blood for Bella. I don't know if that's having a softer side or not."

"_You seem to be growing and changing some."_

He scowls at me. "I don't need to grow or change. I just need to get Bella."

"_It's going to take changing to make that happen."_

"Says you."

"_That's right, says me, the writer."_

"I really fucking hate you."

"_I know, but you'll love me someday."_

"In less than ten chapters."

"_Hopefully."_

"Don't you fucking start that bullshit again."

"_One last question."_

"Thank fucking God."

"_Does vampire jizz sparkle?"_

"Starla! You have no boundaries do you? Fortunately for you, I like that. Yes, it does, only in the sun though. I haven't fucked out in the sun often, for obvious reasons, but I have done it a time or two with Victoria and another vampire. Are you anxious to see it? Pervert!"

"_So that was the last question, at least for now. I may haul you back for another session."_

"I'm sure you fucking will. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go do something and then get back to my girl." He stands and heads to the door.

"_Thanks for stopping by, Edward."_

"You're welcome. Tell Starla to think up some good sex questions for next time. That's clearly all that's on her mind. I like your readers, way better than you."

"_Until less than ten chapters from now."_

"Until then."


	13. Chapter 12

Taste of Innocence Chapter 12

"Really?" she asked, her voice filled with disbelief and her eyes shining with happiness. What, did she think I fucking started lying to her now? If I was going to lie, I sure as fuck would have lied about more important things than moving to godforsaken New Jersey. I could have saved myself a load of fucking grief and a couple of beatings.

"I said yes, didn't I?" Before I could say any more her arms slipped around my waist and she gripped me in a tight hug. She' d have cracked the ribs of a human if she were hugging one, which of course she wouldn't be because I was the only man she would be hugging ever again. I returned the gesture, squeezing her much more gently than she was squeezing me, not that I fucking minded at all. Any time she was touching me with affection was fine by me.

I pressed a kiss to the top of her head and she tilted her face up to grin at me. She was absolutely fucking stunning when she was happy. "I thought for sure you'd argue with me."

"I only argue with you when you're being an obstinate pain in the ass," I pointed out. She laughed and squeezed me again. "When you're being reasonable, which is rare as hell, I'm ready and willing to listen and compromise. You're finally opening yourself up to the possibility of feeding the correct way and that's all I needed to hear. I'll let you try your little experiment and when..." I broke off, not wanting to incite her wrath when she was so content. _"If _it doesn't work out, we can return here and I can teach you the proper way to be a vampire, without the use of the minds of insipid Hollywood writers."

She giggled. "I actually think it's kind of sweet that you sit here and watch them with me, even though I know you hate them with a passion."

"Yeah, well, the chicks are pretty hot. Plus, I think I'll take some inspiration from _The Vampire Diaries."_

Her eyes widened. "What do you mean?" she asked in disbelief.

I traced my pointer finger over her cheek. "I think I'll start my own pain journal."

She snorted with laughter. "That was the thing you were bitching about most. I thought you hated all the emo vampires, now you're saying you are one?"

I flicked her nose and grinned down at her. "No, my pain journal will catalog all the times you kick or hit me when I piss you off. I'll have to get a very large book." She smacked me in the side but giggled at the same time. "See, now I have another entry." She pulled away from me and lay back across the couch, her legs stretching over mine, giggling helplessly. Damn she was fucking cute when she was happy. Was this the first time she'd been happy since she woke up? That was pretty fucked up but probably true. Well, she'd no doubt been happy when we were making out but that was a given. And she'd been content when we spent two days talking, but there was a hint of sadness running through her memories since she knew she'd never see the people she was telling me about again. This was the young, carefree side of Bella I'd yet to see. I'd assumed she was a grandmother trapped in the body of a co-ed. I really fucking liked seeing this side of her.

"I could start my own journal of the amount of sexual innuendo you throw my way. I bet I could fill my journal before you completed yours." That was not a fucking bet I was about to take, not when her luscious little body was lying across the couch, her legs draped over me. It would be all too easy to crawl over her and lower myself on top of her and kiss and lick and…fuck, Edward Junior was standing at full mast again. My reaction to this girl was just ridiculous.

I squeezed her knee. "There's no fucking way in hell I'm taking that bet." She continued to laugh at me and she was absolutely breathtaking. And now I sounded like a fucking chick again. I knew I wasn't though because Edward Junior was making himself very much known against Bella's leg. I was surprised she hadn't commented on it. Of course she was probably just ignoring him. She was surely used to him by now. Too bad she wasn't used to him in much better ways, like how long and hard he was as he pounded inside her. And how wonderful he tasted as she wrapped her sexy little mouth around him and sucked…fuck. We had to get to Jersey and fucking fast so she could fail and embrace vampire life and then let me fuck her, repeatedly. If she was going to eat humans, then her main argument against having sex with me was gone so she could remove the cockblock and have at me like I knew she wanted to.

I lifted her legs and got up from the couch, setting them back down. "Where are you going?" she asked, her laughter finally dying down but the light still shining in her ruby eyes.

"I'm going to get the laptop. We need to find a place to live in Jersey, don't we?" She grinned and nodded. I ran up to the bedroom and returned seconds later with my laptop in hand. "Any specific requests?"

She swung her legs over the side of the couch and sat back up to make room for me. She scrunched up her face in thought and then smiled. I wondered what was going on in that infuriatingly silent mind of hers yet again. _Patience, asshole. You can give her a few minutes to figure out a way to cope with the life you forced on her. _Shut the fuck up, you prick. She's finally happy and you're trying to piss me off now? Go the fuck away and come back when I actually need you. _You always need me; you just deny it all the fucking time. _I need you to go away, permanently. God I hated that smug motherfucker. I needed him? Who the fuck did he think he was? The only thing I needed was sitting on the couch next to me looking delicious in a body hugging green tank top and jeans.

"Well, I think we'd have to find something pretty isolated, since I need to be away from people. Maybe farmland?" she asked uncertainly. "And, since I don't really know if the cow thing will work, maybe someplace with a forest nearby. Maybe I'd prefer actual wildlife to domestic animals? I don't know, what do you think?" She looked up at me with wide, trusting eyes as if I would have all the fucking answers. Like I knew shit about what fucking animals she would prefer. She hadn't exactly taken to my dog suggestion, or the gorilla. I rather enjoyed the mental image I had of her wrestling with a gorilla…probably because it was fairly close to a human genetically. Maybe I could go to the Bronx Zoo, save us the time and effort of finding a place…"Edward?" she asked, nudging me with her elbow.

"What?" I asked, jerked out of my strange mental picture of Bella wrestling with a giant ape.

"Do you think that sounds alright?"

"Oh yeah, let's see what we can find, okay?" I shook off the fucked up arousal I felt at that image and pulled up some real estate information for Sussex County, New Jersey. It was about an hour from my place and with my speeding the distance would be negligible. I typed in my criteria as having a lot of land and with a cost of a million or more. Surprisingly, I got several pages of results. Who fucking knew, New Jersey actually had some decent real estate.

"A million dollars?" Bella screeched, smacking me on the arm. "Edward, you can't spend that kind of money on a house." Was she fucking serious?

"Why the fuck not? Do you know what this place costs?" Did the girl have no clue what New York City real estate went for? A million dollars was nothing. Hadn't I just spent that on my date with Angela?

Bella glanced around, a new wariness in her eyes. She winced when she saw the hole in the wall where my guitar had landed. "Sorry," she whispered, sounding ashamed of herself.

I laughed and kissed her on top of her head. "Don't be, it was fucking hot when you threw that guitar at me."

She giggled. "You're so weird."

"You bring out my weirdness. Now, stop worrying about money. I told you how much of it I have. If I want to spend millions on a house in fucking Jersey, then I will." I still could not believe I was buying a house in New Jersey.

_You wouldn't do it for anybody else but her. _Oh Christ, not you again. I thought you were gone. _I can't go away, I'm you, jackass. _Well you're the one annoying fucking thing about me and I never heard from your stupid ass before so why you feel the need to come around now when I'm finally not alone anymore is beyond me. _I've always been here; you just never bothered to listen to me before because you're a stubborn asshole. _Well can you explain to me how I ignored you before because I'd really fucking like to start doing it again? _No can do, buddy, you need me. _Like hell I fucking do. I'm doing just fine without you. _Oh really? How come it's me that helps you understand your girl then? You know the only reason you're putting up with her is because you l…_Oh hell the fuck no, don't you dare finish that sentence. _You're a fucking wuss. Why can't you just admit how you feel about her? _I have, you asshole. She knows I care. _Caring and l…_I said shut the fuck up! Damn it, no wonder I'm such a fucking wuss when it comes to her, it's your pussy self coming in and interfering. Go away. I'll call you if I fucking need you. I waited and no snappy reply came so apparently the douchebag was sulking like the fucking chick he was.

"Um, Edward, are you okay?" Bella asked, putting her right hand on my arm.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. I just zoned out for a minute there." Fucking annoying inner voice, disrupting my life. I clicked on the first house that came up. "What do you think about this one?"

It was a white two-story house with a pretty fucking cool balcony running along the top floor. "Edward, it's 2.5 million dollars," Bella hissed, sounding completely distressed.

"Bella, what did I tell you? Money is no object. The fact that this house is only two and a half million dollars shocks the hell out of me. Do you know what it would cost here? Three times that, at least. Now look at the house and tell me what you think?" It wasn't going to work, it wasn't isolated enough, but if I could at least get her opinion I could figure out what the fuck she did like and go from there.

She sighed but looked at the pictures I pulled up. "Oh, I love the bathtub!" I had to admit, it was pretty fucking nice. It was a huge oval surrounded by gray marble and had a huge ass window that you could look out while soaking in the water. The thought of climbing into that tub with Bella and caressing her naked, wet skin in the moonlight had Edward Junior battering against my zipper again. Fuck. House hunting was suddenly pretty fucking interesting.

"The pool is fabulous but I don't really like the old fashioned diner thing they have going on. And who needs a basketball court in their house?" My girl had good fucking taste; I'd say that much for her. "The house is pretty and I love the lake but I don't think it's the one." Not unless she planned on sucking the blood from fish and that was just a foul ass image if ever there was one.

"I agree. It's not really isolated enough either, only 6 acres. We need a lot more land than that." I pulled up the next home, another two story white house but this one was a farmhouse with 127 acres. Much better. Ha, they raised fucking sheep? I wondered if Bella would be partial to sheep's blood. "How about this one?"

She wrinkled up her nose in the most adorable fucking way and I couldn't resist so I kissed the tip and she laughed and pushed me away. "Wood paneling? I hate wood paneling. I don't like the looks of this house nearly as much." She was right, yet again. Was there any question she fucking belonged with me?

I grinned at her. "I couldn't agree more. The land is good, but the house is not and since we don't have time to wait, this one is out." I clicked open the next house and barely managed to keep from shouting out in triumph. This was fucking it, at least in my eyes. It was a 175 acre horse farm, surrounded on both sides by nothing but forest. It was completely private, the only other building nearby was the stable for the horses. It had gleaming wood floors, a huge modern kitchen, not that we needed it, a beautiful brick fireplace that we could curl up in front of, a very large pool…I was instantly sold.

I waited anxiously for Bella's reaction. She hadn't said anything, only taking a sharp breath when I first pulled up the property and then just sitting there silently. Why the fuck couldn't I hear her thoughts? I needed to know, now. This was our house, damn it. She had to see it.

"Edward, it's perfect," she breathed softly. "Look at that staircase!" It was great; it curved up in this sweeping way that was reminiscent of those old time movies where the hero carried his girl up to their bedroom and the movie faded to black. I couldn't wait to carry Bella up those stairs but we wouldn't be fucking fading to black.

"It is perfect," I agreed. Of course she fucking saw that. She was made for me. "There's tons of forest where I'm sure you could find some creatures to hunt. Plus, we can raise your own food. How do you feel about horse blood?" I couldn't resist the urge to laugh at the horrified look on her face.

"I'm not eating horses!" she shouted. "Why would you think that I would want to eat a horse? Horses are beautiful." She looked completely outraged, her arms were crossed across her chest and she was glaring at me. She was so fucking hot.

"Cows, horses, what's the difference?" I knew I was goading her but damned if I didn't enjoy it.

"Cows are raised to be food. Horses are for riding and petting and loving." Her lip stuck out in an adorable pout that I wanted to bite but I preferred to keep Edward Junior attached to my body so I refrained.

"Baby, did you want a horse when you were a kid?" She was so fucking cute, sulking about a fucking horse.

"Maybe," she muttered, still glaring at me. I would fill the stable with them if she wanted but I didn't know how horses would take to us. Animals tended to recognize predators a lot more easily than humans did. Still, we could try I suppose.

"Do you want one? I'll make sure they include them in the sale if you want." How the hell I would do that was beyond me. Well, Jenks could fucking figure it out.

She smiled but shook her head. "I doubt a horse would let me near it now. But thank you. That was sweet of you to ask me if I wanted one."

"I'd get you a dozen if you wanted," I blurted out. What the fuck, Edward? Why don't you just hand her your cock and be done with it?

She grinned and kissed my cheek. "I know you would but it's not necessary. Still, this is the house." Of course she knew she had my balls in a vice. She wasn't fucking stupid. Damn witchy woman.

"I'll get Jenks on it. I'll offer a bonus to make sure we can get in as soon as possible." The house was three million dollars, if I offered five they could sure as fuck let me close on it in a timely fashion. Maybe it would come furnished and save me a shitload of trouble as well.

Bella's hand twined with mine. "Thank you for doing this for me, Edward. I know you don't want to, but you're doing it anyway. I appreciate it." Her voice was sweet and sincere and made me feel like I'd done something important and heroic. I hadn't really.

"It's no big deal," I told her, trying to pull my hand away but she held fast.

"No, it is and I want you to know that I see that. I know I've annoyed you a million times but you're still here, putting up with me and buying me a beautiful house to let me try to live the way I want to, even though it's not what you want. You're a good guy, Edward." Oh hell, when she put it like that I sounded like some kind of a saint. I felt uncomfortable with the way that made me feel.

"Look, Bella, we both know that I'm not…" she cut me off by pressing her lips to mine and whatever the fuck I was going to say was lost. I moved the computer and wrapped my arms around her and returned the gentle kiss. There was no passion here; it wasn't the type of kiss that would lead to fucking her right on the couch. It was softer and warmer. It was fucking incredible.

She pulled back eventually and smiled at me, light sparkling in her eyes. "I know who you are, Edward. More importantly, I know who you can be. Stick with me and you'll find out." What the fuck did that mean? Still…

"I'm not going anywhere," I told her roughly, tightening my arms around her.

She kissed me again. "I know." Of course she did. She was finally recognizing her power over me. I was well and truly fucked. _You know you like it. _I wanted to tell him he was fucking wrong but we both knew he wasn't.

I released her and reached for my cell phone. "I'll call Jenks and get him on this. You're going to need to work on something while I do."

"What do I need to do?" she asked.

"Hold your breath."

"What? What do you mean? Just tell me what I need to do?" Her forehead was wrinkled in confusion and she sounded annoyed, thinking that I was fucking with her.

"The drive to Jersey will take about an hour when we move. You need to practice not breathing for that long. It's not that difficult but it can feel weird. I can't have you breathing in at the wrong moment and ripping the car door off to go attack a human along the way."

"Oh! I hadn't thought about that." Well of course she hadn't, she had yet to go out and deal with humans.

"That's what I'm here for." She laughed and slapped my knee. "So, just stop breathing." She took a deep breath and puffed her cheeks out. I laughed my ass off at the sight of her; she looked like a little kid about to take their first leap into a swimming pool.

She released her breath and glared at me. "What?"

"You don't have to take a deep breath and hold it in like that. Just stop breathing entirely."

"Well excuse me; I've only been doing it naturally all my life. How the hell am I supposed to know how to stop breathing?" She folded her arms and huffed in frustration. She was killing me with how fucking cute she was.

"It's simple. Just take a breath and don't let it out. You don't have to puff your cheeks out, let it into your lungs and leave it there." She did as I said and looked a lot more fucking normal this time.

I chuckled at her still annoyed posture and flipped open my phone to speed dial Jenks. It was fairly early on a Saturday morning for me to be calling him but I didn't give a damn. He lived to serve me.

He answered breathlessly, as if he'd had to run across the room to get his phone. "Mr. Cullen, sir, how are you? Was your evening satisfactory?"

My evening? What fucking evening? Oh, the date with Angela. "Yes, it was fine, thank you for arranging it." I could afford to be magnanimous, the night had been a success and I had my girl by my side, gamely doing her best not to breathe.

"I'm glad to hear it, sir. What can I do for you this morning?" There was a note of terror in his voice that satisfied me immensely.

"I need you to buy a house in New Jersey. The property is 31 Fairview Hill Road, in Fredon Township. I want it as soon as possible, preferably by Monday."

"What?" he spluttered. "Why New Jersey? And what makes you think you can close on a house that fast? The owners need to approve it and then the settlement costs and…"

"Are you fucking questioning me, Jenks?" I thundered. What the fuck was with him lately? All he seemed to do was ask me to fucking explain myself. Who the fuck worked for whom?

"No, sir, it's just, you've had these strange requests lately and I'm wondering if something is wrong with you. Is this all about that woman? Mr. Hall said that you seemed friendly but not like you were in love or anything." What the fuck had he just said?

"What the fuck did you just say?" I demanded. "You actually spoke to that obsequious little fuck at the museum and asked him about my evening? Since when do you fucking check up on me? Do we have a problem, Jenks?" How dare he? It was about time I severed our relationship, permanently. I'd make him drive his ass out to Jersey and kill him to celebrate closing on my new house.

"Uh, no, I mean, I wasn't checking on you per se, I just wanted to make sure that you were satisfied with the accommodations and…"

"And you called and checked up on me!" I shouted. Bella put her hand on my knee and gave me a gentle squeeze. As always, her touch did calm me somewhat but I was fucking pissed. "Look, Jenks, I thought we had a mutually satisfactory agreement but if you're going to be questioning me at every turn and fucking spying on me, maybe I better find someone who can manage to follow my orders more thoroughly."

"No, please, Mr. Cullen. I apologize for overstepping my bounds. Please, give me a chance to prove myself to you. I'll get you that house and I'll get it by Monday. Just give me the name of the realtor and I'll take care of it." That was more fucking like it.

"Any more behavior such as this and I will be forced to look for a new assistant. I believe I pay you more than enough to deal with my occasional request, no matter how odd you deem it to be. You know that I am special and I demand to be treated as such." Neither of us had ever uttered the word vampire but he knew I never aged and he had more or less put together the fact that I was immortal.

"You are more than generous, sir." Damn right I was. He was still fucking alive, wasn't he? For how long remained to be seen.

"The realtor is Weichert. The property lists for $2.9 million. Offer them five to be out by Monday, if it's not already empty. If they throw in furnishings, add another million. I'll be expecting your call. Oh and Jenks? Make sure there's at least one cow in the pasture." I hung up on his sputtering and grinned at Bella. "You're doing great, baby." She nodded and leaned back into my arms. Everything was coming together, finally. I'd have everything I wanted soon enough.

Xoxoxoxox

Color me shocked but Jenks fucking came through. He called me back Saturday afternoon to say that the house was already vacant, which was a fucking relief. Most of the furniture was still there and the owners had been willing to part with it so that was another fucking win for me. He flew out to sign the papers and then left the keys in the mailbox. He'd made no mention of the cow but I assumed he'd come through on that front or else his call would have been filled with apologies and excuses.

"Are you ready, Bella?" I asked. The Volvo was loaded with our clothes, the computer, music and books. Anything else we needed I'd fucking order when we got there. Jenks had taken care of the electricity and water and whatnot so all we had to do was show up. It was just after 2 AM and it was time to head out. Bella needed to eat and I needed to get this shit underway. The sooner we got there, the sooner I would win. Plus it would make Bella happy to have a little space to roam. _Sure it's just an afterthought for you, Bella's happiness. You fucking lie to yourself. _I was not acknowledging him. I had places to go and people to do. Well one to do anyway. She would be mine soon, I could feel it.

Bella came down the stairs holding another bag of books and thrust it at me. Her nerves were written all over her face and in her body language. Her ruby eyes were darting around the room and she was shifting from foot to foot. I wrapped my free right arm around her waist. "You can do this. You've gotten really good at it the last couple of days." She had too. She could hold her breath for over an hour, but practicing it in the safety of the house versus out on the open road was another thing entirely. Still, I had confidence in my girl. I pressed my lips to hers, grinning at how easy it was to kiss her now. She almost always responded and I didn't have to piss her off to feel her lips moving against mine. We were getting closer all the time.

I pulled back and smoothed her hair back over her shoulders. She had on a blue button down today…my blue button down. It looked fucking hot as hell on her. "Let's go." She looked at me with wide, frightened eyes but took a deep breath and nodded. I took her hand and opened the door, holding on to her tightly as I shut and locked it. We moved quickly to the car and I opened the passenger door and threw the bag of books in the backseat and helped Bella into the front, closing the door quickly. So far, so good. Nobody was out on my street this time of night. I knew we'd eventually come across people though.

I hurried around to the driver's side and was in with the car started a second later. "If you think you're going to lose control, just grab my hand," I told her. She grabbed it right away but sent me a tight nod to let me know she was alright. "Okay, just squeeze my hand if you suddenly feel the urge to attack someone." She nodded again. I put the car in first and took off quickly. We just had to get through the next hour and all would be well.

I turned left and headed toward the Holland Tunnel. I was worried about that part of the trip; there'd be nowhere to go if she had the urge to attack. But we'd deal with that when we got there. We were only ten miles away and we were getting a more crowded part of the city. There were bars and restaurants still open at this time of night which meant people. I stroked Bella's hand gently as I maneuvered my way through the city.

We were only two miles away from the tunnel when I heard it. Fuck. _Just one more block and she'll be all alone. I'll show that bitch for rejecting me. _ There was nothing I could do. I had Bella in the car and I couldn't afford to stop and end him. But I couldn't let him attack the girl either. I saw it clearly in his mind; he was going to rape her. Maybe he'd leave her alive, maybe he wouldn't, he hadn't decided yet. She might prefer death to what he had in store for her though. The girl was young and she had long brown hair, just like my Bella. My hands tightened on the wheel as I warred with myself. Should I just walk away and let it happen? Could I? Would Bella want me to? I didn't fucking think so.

I pulled over and stopped the car and she whipped her head around to look at me in alarm. "Bella, I have to stop. It'll just be a minute. Someone's in trouble. I have to help. Whatever you do, _stay in the car._ Do you understand me?" Her whole body went rigid but she nodded. "I'll be right back."

I was out of the car and moving quickly. He was two blocks away from me and only about 50 feet away from her. I saw him turn into an alley, his thoughts gleeful because nobody could see him take her now. I was on him before he even caught up to the girl. She turned when she heard his body slam up against the brick wall. "Run," I told her through clenched teeth. Her thoughts were disjointed and confused but she got the hell out of there.

"What the fuck, man?" The vermin struggled against my hold but I had him pinned and he couldn't begin to budge me, despite the fact that he was huge. He was about 200 lbs of pretty solid muscle with a shaved head and a gold stud earring in his left ear. He had a scar on his left cheek and some kind of tattoo poking out from under his black shirt.

"I'm not letting you rape that girl." He jerked in surprise but quickly covered the movement with a sly grin.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just on my way home. It's just a simple misunderstanding though. No harm, no foul. Just let me go and we'll forget this ever happened." Right, like I was a fucking moron that would believe that.

His lies weren't the problem here though; I didn't know what the fuck to do with him. I couldn't drain him and go back to the car smelling of his blood. Bella would undoubtedly lose her shit if I did and then I'd be chasing her through the streets of New York City trying to prevent a bloodbath. I couldn't let him go; he'd just find someone else to attack. I could see that in his foolish fucking mind as well. He was already picturing other girls at the bar that had caught his fancy. I could just snap his neck and leave it at that, I suppose. It was a waste of some good blood but better than setting Bella off.

Resolved, I smiled and loosened my grip on his arms. I started to reach for his neck when I knew we weren't alone. Fuck. She hadn't listened. Of course she hadn't. Why would she start now? I hadn't heard her approach but I knew she was there just as well as I knew my own name. I felt her.

I turned and saw Bella standing at the foot of the alley. _Now that one is prime. I need to shake this loser and make her scream. _His mind filled with images of him ripping off her shirt and I let out a growl of rage and shoved him back against the wall again. His head hit the brick with a resounding crack that gave me a bit of satisfaction.

"Baby, you need to go back to the car." She just shook her head and stepped a little closer. Holy fuck. She didn't want…did she? "Do you want him?" The moron was mentally cheering over the question. What a fucking dumbass. Like I was asking my girl if she wanted to fuck this loser? If the answer was yes, he'd be in a million fucking pieces before he could blink.

She took another tentative step closer but shook her head, more slowly this time; like she wasn't sure about the answer. God I wanted to watch her drain this rapist freak but I wasn't going to push her. "Are you sure, Bella?" She nodded, again, seemingly reluctantly. Well damn. "Okay then, go back to the car." But of course, being Bella, she didn't make a move in the opposite direction. She just stood and stared at me. What the fuck was I going to do now?

I just needed to snap his neck and be done with it. I put my hand over his windpipe and kept my eyes on Bella. She watched me steadily, not flinching from what I was about to do. There was no derision in her eyes but I almost felt it coming from her. If I killed in front of her, would she hate me forever? She'd sort of accepted this side of me, albeit grudgingly, but it was one thing to know what I did and another thing entirely to see it. She may never look at me with that light and happiness shining in her eyes again. I couldn't fucking risk that. He wasn't worth it. Nothing was. _See, you l…_Not now you motherfucker. I have way too much shit to deal with in this moment without your ridiculous taunting. He mercifully remained quiet.

I turned back to the loser who was struggling against me. "Your life is spared, tonight. You can thank her for that. Unfortunately not the way you want to. I should kill you for your thoughts of touching her alone. But she wouldn't like that. So I'm letting you live." He stopped moving and looked relieved. I gave him my predator's smile, my teeth glinting in the moonlight. He gulped. "That doesn't mean I'm going to let you walk away to rape another girl in her place."

"Yeah? You gonna call the cops? You have no proof. If anything, they'll arrest you for assault." He was feeling confident now, since I said I wouldn't kill him. Fool. I didn't know if Bella would like what I had planned any better than killing him but I had to do it. I couldn't just walk away leaving him whole.

Before he even registered my movement, I released one of his shoulders and grabbed him by the crotch. He let out a yelp of surprise that quickly turned into an excruciated scream as I crushed his cock and balls in my hand. "Let's see you try to rape a girl with a broken dick," I hissed. It was fucking gross and made Edward Junior throb in sympathy but it was the best I could do under the circumstances. He collapsed to the ground, cupping his useless junk in his hands and screeching bloody murder.

I ran to the end of the alley and grabbed Bella's hand. She was just gaping at me but she was still holding her breath, I was proud to see. We rushed back to the car and I took off quickly, getting us into the Holland Tunnel and through it with no difficulty. Bella just stared out the window but held onto my hand tightly, ready to give her signal if she needed it. I was so fucking proud of her, but that pride was warring with fear that she'd hate me for what I'd done.

I made my way into Sussex and found the drive that led to our house. "You can go ahead and breathe now, if you like." Bella took a deep breath but still kept vigilant watch out of the window. I would give everything I owned to know what she was thinking in this moment. I pulled up in front of our home and it was even more beautiful in person than it had been online. I turned off the car and finally she turned to face me. Her eyes told me nothing and her face was perfectly smooth. Had I fucked everything up irrevocably? "Bella, baby, please talk to me. Do you hate me now?"

She shook her head and then launched herself at me, her lips meeting mine with surprising force. What the fuck? Had I turned her on? Fuck I loved this crazy, unpredictable girl. Oh shit…no. Inner motherfucker didn't say a word; he just laughed his ass off. I was so royally fucked.

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**A/N HA! He thought it! Of course he isn't about to admit the big L out loud yet, but the inner voice is winning. Poor Smugward!**

**Just a reminder, Fandom Gives Back starts in a week and a half or so and I am up for auction. And frankly, I'll cry if nobody bids on me, just so you know. I'm sure you care :) Anyway, if you want a BPOV of something in this story, bid on me. If you'd like a look into the mind of the poor, beaten down Jenks, bid on me! If you'd to force me to take the cockblock off now instead of when it's time, bid on me! Whatever you want, I shall do, be it something from Taste, Sacrificial Lamb, First & Ten, Stealing Home or something original. My only rules? Canon pairings/no slash. **

**Added news, Starla, AKA HippieStarr on twitter, is going to form a Team Nolebucgrl for FGB, she wants all 3 outtakes I believe and I said if you all impress me, I'll do it. Details are at the Twilighted thread or you can PM or Tweet HippieStarr if you want to join. You guys are awesome!  
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**This is the last week to vote in The Silence of The Wolves contest and I'm told we have some close votes so you could make the difference. Read & Vote!**

**See you next chapter, wherein Bella will hunt! It should be interesting :)**


	14. Chapter 13

Taste of Innocence Chapter 13

Bella's lips were firm and hard on mine. Her hands were buried in my hair and her tight body was wedged between the steering wheel and my own body, her breasts mashed against my chest. Were I a betting man, I would say she was finally going to let me fuck her. And I should have been fucking overjoyed by that very fact. I should have had her out of the car and naked and spread out on the hood like the most gorgeous hood ornament ever created. I should have had her inside our new house, christening every room five fucking times a piece without stopping as she screamed my name over and over. I should have had my cock buried in her right at this very fucking instant but Edward Junior had left the building the instant _that_ fucking word entered my head.

_Love? _Where in the ever living fuck had that come from? I didn't love anyone. I never had. Hell, I don't think anyone ever loved me when it came down to it. My parents certainly hadn't. I was their heir, their showpiece, their afterthought and their fucking disappointment. My grandfather didn't know dick about love. The closest I'd ever come to receiving love had been my nanny, Jillian. She'd actually stayed with me for a year before she got run off by my mother for fucking my father. And now that I thought about it, she was probably just being nice to me to keep her job so she could keep boning him. And she wasn't the last nanny my horny fucking father had run off with his cock. There was Shannon and Amy and Beth and Starla and Michelle and Ashley…the list was fucking endless. Carlisle was King Cockmaster back in his day. And they fucking wondered where I got it from?

I suppose I sort of loved Brenda, my mother's friend who initiated me into the art of lovemaking, but I was fourteen fucking years old and that was pretty fucked up when I really thought about it. She'd been my mother's bridge partner and she'd come to me one night when Esme passed out from too much champagne, a common occurrence. One thing led to another and little Edward wasn't a virgin anymore and he never looked back. She came around for an entire year until I blew her off. I'd learned all I could from her and I had more to discover with new warm bodies.

And of the hundreds, shit, thousands of women I'd fucked, only one had ever made me feel happy and confused and excited and irritated and just completely fucking consumed. It was the girl that was in my arms right now. Was that love? How the fuck did I know? _You know. _Oh Christ, this guy again? Aren't you supposed to go the fuck away now that I'm fucking enlightened? Isn't that why you're here, to guide me to the truth about my pansy ass fucking feelings? _How many times do I have to tell you that I am you, you douche? I'm not going anywhere; even after you shout that you love Bella from the top of the fucking Empire State Building. I'm here to stay, get used to it. And if you think that you don't fucking need me; you're a bigger moron that I ever thought you were. I'm the only reason you've come so far with Bella and have her kissing you right now. _Why the fuck am I talking to you when she's kissing me anyway? _Good fucking question. And you think you don't need me? Jackass._

And that was a good point. My girl, the girl I apparently cared deeply for, if I was even capable of such a thing, was kissing me and I was busy arguing with the asshole in my head instead of enjoying the beautiful girl in my arms kissing me as if she'd never stop? I had huge fucking issues. My hands found their way to her ass and I started to squeeze and thank fucking God I felt Edward Junior come to life again. I was afraid he went on strike permanently and that shit just could not ever fucking happen.

_Are you really going to make love to Bella in your fucking car you heathen? _ Jesus fucking Christ, didn't you go away? _I'd ask if you're deaf but you don't need ears to hear me, dickhead. I am always here. You should tell her you love her, she'd feel a lot better about fucking you then. _And just like that, Edward Junior deflated again. God damn it. I was not in love with Bella. I liked her a hell of a lot fucking more than I did anyone else but that wasn't the same as love. I'd been inside enough heads to know when a guy was totally fucking besotted with a woman and that wasn't me. Yes, I thought about her a lot but that's because we were together 24/7 and she was my responsibility. Yes, I did pussy whipped shit for her but that's because she had me in a permanent state of hardness, present moment excluded, which was just fucking ridiculous. And yes, I liked her in more than a passing way but that wasn't the same as love. So, there you go, I liked her. And she knew that already. So there was nothing to worry about. Love was off the motherfucking table.

_I swear to God, if I was more than just a voice in your damn head I would kick your ass from here all the way back to New York City, you fucking fool. You LOVE her. Capital L-O-V-E. You wouldn't be so fucking panicked if you didn't and you sure as shit wouldn't be limp dicked right now if that wasn't the case. You'd shove me aside like you always do and bang the living shit out of her but you can't do that, can you? Just like you couldn't kill in front of her. You love her. Fucking admit it, if only to your god damn self._

Shit, that was the longest rant that irritating voice had gone on since he'd appeared in my head a week or so ago. What the fuck was up with that? So, alright, clearly I more than liked Bella. Did that automatically equate to love? No, I don't think so. There are degrees to these things and maybe I could love Bella, if I were the loving type, but clearly I am not. _Can you imagine your life without her? What will you do if this animal thing works out for her and she leaves your ass as soon as she can stand to be around humans again? _I felt my chest seize up and my hands tightened on Bella's waist as if to keep her with me for all time. _See, moron. The thought of her leaving gives you a fucking panic attack. Welcome to love, asshole. Have fun._

Well now he was just being a dick. He sounded like he fucking enjoyed upsetting me. He probably did; masochistic inner voice that he was. He was hurting his own stupid self as well but did he give a flying fuck? No, of course not. I hated him. _I don't give a fuck if you hate me, admit it. Admit it or I'll stay here all fucking night and ruin every single second of Bella's kissing you. You've already missed, what, ten minutes talking to me? Wanna try for twenty? Thirty? She'll start to wonder what the fuck is wrong with you and think you're incapable of backing up all the shit that you talk. _

Oh, Jesus fucking Christ, alright. I admit it. _Admit what? _Like you don't fucking know? You are me, remember? _What did I just say, douchenozzle? _FINE! I love her, okay? I love Bella Swan. I have no idea what in the fuck I'm going to do about it but she's under my skin and I fucking like it even though it's making me insane and it's making me listen to your stupid ass. Now will you go the fuck away so I can actually enjoy her or are you going to stay and watch like the perverted asshole you are? _Thank you, that's all I needed._

I waited for a couple of seconds but he seemed to be blessedly gone. I moaned in relief and Bella pulled back and smiled tentatively at me. "There you are. I was beginning to think that you didn't want me anymore." Asshole, look what you made me do! She's finally the aggressor and now she thinks I don't want her because you were yammering at me for an hour. Fucking douche. And why am I talking to you again? Damn it all to hell. I was going insane.

"No, baby," I reached up and stroked her cheek. "You just caught me by surprise is all. I was worried the whole way home that you were going to hate me for what you saw and then you started kissing me. To say I was surprised is a huge fucking understatement." Her smile widened and her red eyes lit up with it. God she was beautiful. And inner voice might be the biggest prick on the planet but he was right about one thing, she deserved better than being fucked in the front seat of the Volvo. "Can I ask what brought that on anyway?" She was so fucking mystifying; I didn't know which was up or down when I was with her. _And you love that. _Fuck it, I did. I am one fucked up individual.

She brushed my hair out of my eyes and continued to smile at me. Again I had to fight the urge to demand that she tell me what was going on in that unpredictable mind of hers. "Well, I don't know exactly." She bit her lip and tilted her head to the side.

"Why didn't you stay in the car?"

She shrugged and looked sheepish. "I just had to see what you were going to do. It's one thing knowing what you do, imagining it, but it's another thing entirely seeing it with my own two eyes." Well that was fucking confusing. What did that even mean? I raised an eyebrow at her and she giggled. "I may not want to kill anyone, Edward, at least not in here." She pointed to her heart. "But there's something inside me…something wild and primal and hungry and I could feel it pulsing in me as I sat there, knowing that's what you were going to do. And God help me, I wanted it. I wanted to be a part of it. I was out of the car before I really thought about it and I could hear you, from a couple blocks away." She was breathing heavily now and her eyes were dazed, almost as if she was in a trance talking about it. I understood though, it could be like that when you were on a hunt, particularly when you were a newborn.

I took her hand in mine and she shook her head and seemed to focus on me again. "When I got to the foot of the alley and I saw you, with your hands on his neck and him against the wall…I wanted him, Edward. I wanted to come and snatch him out of your hands and taste that blood. I could hear his heartbeat...I could feel it as if it were my own. It took everything I had in me not to take you up on your offer and finish him. And you didn't push me," she sounded awed and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat because I had wanted to. What was this fucking feeling? Shame? She was making me feel all sorts of shit I'd never felt before.

She squeezed my hand and I looked at that stunning face and I swear I could feel my own fucking heart flutter in my silent chest. I was so fucked. "You want me to kill people." I didn't say anything because it was true. "And you could have gotten me to do it. Or you could have bit him and that would have been enough to make me join you, just like you wanted." Yes, that was true; we could have lived out the fantasy that had been my favorite before she woke up. "But you didn't, Edward. You didn't make me slip up. You didn't kill that man in front of me, even though his thoughts about me upset you." I felt that murderous rage coursing through me as I remembered what he wanted to do to her. I wanted to crush his nuts all over again and then drain him dry. How the fuck had I restrained myself? The answer to that question was right there holding my hand and looking at me with earnest eyes that shone with trust.

"For me, you let him live. You hurt him." She grimaced as she no doubt remembered what I'd done. "But you didn't kill him. And, well, this is embarrassing," she murmured, looking down at our joined hands and running her thumb over the back of mine.

"What, Bella?" I asked softly, not wanting to push but just needing to understand this girl, for once in my fucking life.

"It was…"she broke off and I fought back a curse. She looked back up at me and bit her lip again. Edward Junior started pushing against my zipper at the sight. "It was sexy," she blurted, raising her free right hand and covering her mouth.

I barked out a laugh of surprise. I didn't meant to laugh at her, truly I didn't, but I never thought I'd hear that escape her mouth when she was talking about me crushing some rapist's cock. "Sexy?" I asked. Then again, should I be surprised? I would have found it hot as fucking hell if she did something like that in front of me and she was only human. Well, not human, but still…of course it was sexy.

She glared at me but didn't pull her hand out of mine. "Yes, okay? Knowing that you could have killed him, it was exciting. Part of me wanted you to, so that I could join in and then blame you," her voice lowered in shame and I shook my head.

"You could have blamed me. If I did that, it would have been my fault." It would have been manipulative as fucking hell and prior to her coming into my life I would have done it in a heartbeat. What the fuck was wrong with me? _Love. _Right.

"But you didn't," she said, squeezing my hand and smiling at me again. I felt like a fucking hero when she looked at me like that. It was scary as fuck. "And you made sure he could never hurt another woman again. That was…" she broke off and shivered. "Incredible. Knowing you could snap him in half without a thought was exciting." Edward Junior gave his own nod of approval, or more like a bob of approval I guess.

"Baby, I will happily snap someone in half for you. You just say the word and consider it done," I leered at her and she scowled and smacked the side of my head with her free right hand. I felt Edward Junior straining against my zipper now. He was such a fucking masochist; we both were.

"What made it exciting was that you didn't. For me. Because of me. Because you didn't want to force me to do something I didn't want to do. Because you…" she looked uncomfortable as she stopped speaking.

"Because I what?" I demanded. Did she fucking know? Was she just going to announce that I loved her as if it was no big fucking deal and she'd known all along? That would be a giant kick in the fucking balls let me tell you.

She fidgeted and looked everywhere in the car but me and I finally reached out and took her chin in my hand. "What, Bella?"

"Because you care about me?" she asked softly, looking up at me from under lowered lashes. Fuck, did she know what that look did to me? A part of me was relieved that she didn't use the much hated word and another part of me actually felt a little disappointed. I wasn't sure which emotion was stronger at the moment; it seemed to be a dead heat.

I could tell her, right now, I could tell her that I loved her and see what she said. Was she ready for that? Jesus, did she love me? Could she? She hated what I'd done to her, taking her from all she'd known. She hated the thought of killing someone but she did like vampires and I was one, so maybe she could love me. Probably not now though. In time, I could make her love me. Right? If I loved her, she had to love me. That was the only thing that was acceptable. If I was going to be a besotted fool, then she should be too. But she probably wasn't yet. So I wasn't going to say it. Nope, she wasn't ready. And fuck, I certainly wasn't ready to take a chance and give her my heart and have it thrown back at me. No fucking thank you. I'd survived of a century without experiencing that fuckery and I didn't need to risk it.

Bella closed her eyes and I realized that she was waiting for me to answer her and she was probably scared as fuck that I would deny caring for her. God, I'm an asshole. _Told you so. _Fuck off. I traced my thumb over her cheek bone and her eyes flashed back open. "Yes, I care about you, Bella." It was on the tip of my tongue to ask her if she felt the same way but that would be pushing her and she'd just said that my not pushing her had turned her on so I wasn't about to start now.

The smile lit her face again and she breathed what could only be a sigh of relief. "It means a lot to me, that you didn't encourage me back in that alley. And that you brought me here, so I could try this diet and get a chance to be outside and see the world again," she told me, taking my hand in both of hers. "I know I'm not what you wanted me to be…"

I cut her off with a growl, incensed that she could even think something like that. "You're exactly who I want you to fucking be, Bella. You may drive me crazy but it's a good kind of crazy. I never get bored with you. I've never shared my life with anyone but it's easy to do with you. Don't you dare say you're not who I want you to be. You're exactly who I want." Way more than you could ever fucking know.

She leaned forward and kissed me again. "Thank you for that, too. You're showing a lot of patience with me and I'm pretty sure that's not something you're known for." I leaned my head back on the headrest and howled with laughter. That was the understatement of the fucking century right there. She laughed with me and I delighted in the tinkling bell sound of her laughter. She broke off and chewed her lip again, her mood changes continuing to be lightning quick. Why the fuck did I enjoy the hell out of that?

"Edward?" Oh Christ, what did she fucking want now? I couldn't even begin to guess what might be going on in that crazy head of hers and it scared the hell out of me. Was she going to ask me to bury Edward Junior in the forest? Was she going to ask me to go find her friends and turn them into vampires too? Was she going to ask me to take her to the ocean so she could taste a fucking whale? God only knew.

"What?" I asked, my voice rough with irritation and nerves.

She looked down at our clasped hands and began playing with my fingers again. "I just thought you should know that I care about you too." The words came out all in a rush and she wasn't looking at me but if she had been she probably would have seen a goofy ass smile on my face. She cared about me. That meant she had feelings for me and they were actually good ones. And given time that could become love and then we'd be on equal fucking footing finally.

I took my hand out of hers and cupped her face with both of mine, angling it so I could look into her eyes. She looked nervous as hell but I didn't give a fuck. I leaned forward and kissed her, initially devouring her lips with my own but she sighed and the movements slowed and the kiss became like something out of a fucking romantic movie. It was soft and sweet and I felt warm all over from just that tiny bit of contact with her. I didn't think I could feel more connected with her than I did in that moment, even if I were inside of her. God I was a fucking pansy.

Bella broke out kiss with a shaky laugh and leaned her forehead against mine. I wished my brain could merge with hers and I could know what the fuck she was thinking, as usual. "Maybe we should go check out the house," she suggested softly. She was right, we'd been sitting in the fucking car for an hour and the sun would be coming up soon. We could explore the house and then the property and I could see her in the sunlight finally. I was ridiculously excited about that, further signs that I was a complete lovesick fool.

"You're right, we should go inside." I kissed her again and smiled against her lips when I felt her respond to me. She would be mine completely soon, I could feel it.

I pulled back and opened my door, hurrying around the car to open her door and let her out. I took her hand and pulled her from the vehicle, shutting the door behind us as we turned and face the house. We could both see it perfectly despite the darkness; the big white two-story home with a perfectly manicured lawn. It looked warm and inviting, the way a home should be; well maybe not a home that would be housing two vampires, but still. I tugged Bella over to the front door and handed her the keys I'd plucked from the mailbox at the end of the lane. "Why don't you open it?"

She beamed at me and took the key and put it in the lock. She pushed open the door and swept her arm toward me to usher me in. I took her hand again and we walked in together, as it should be. It wasn't necessary but I switched on the hallway light and Bella gasped as the shiny wood floors were illuminated. "It's so beautiful! Even better than the pictures!" I couldn't help but agree. I actually liked the place. Who'd have fucking thought? Bella walked over to the staircase and ran her hand over the gleaming wood banister. "I love it, Edward." The awe and happiness in her voice made me tingle like a fucking girl and I felt my breath hitch at the words love and Edward appearing in the same sentence. What kind of ridiculous fucking reaction would I have when she actually did say what I longed to hear? Thank God I didn't have tear ducts anymore because I would probably cry and there was nothing fucking manly about that, I didn't give a damn what those talk show bitches said.

Bella came back over to me and took my hands in hers. "What's the matter? Don't you like it?" Jesus, I had to stop getting so lost in my fucking head, the poor girl already had enough complexes without thinking I was ignoring her or unhappy with her or whatever craziness ran through her head.

"I do like it. More, I like watching you like it." Why not just hand her your heart on a silver platter, Cullen? She grinned again and let go of my left hand and pulled me by the right one into the kitchen. It had black marble flooring and matching countertops and wooden cabinets that matched the flooring, along with all these modern appliances that would go to waste but at least it looked nice.

Bella ran her free hand over the counter and sighed a little. "I wish I could cook here." I felt my heart break at the wistfulness in her voice. I took that away from her without a thought. God I was a fucking asshole. _About time you realized that. _I didn't even have the energy to tell him to shut the fuck up this time.

"You cook?" I asked, being the masochistic fool that I was. I should have to suffer through hearing what she lost when I turned her.

She smiled sadly and nodded. "Neither of my parents was very good in that department." Well that was a big fucking surprise. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "So I learned by necessity. It was fun, relaxing." I could think of several better ways to relax but they were better left unsaid at the moment.

She seemed to be lost in thought and I didn't fucking like it so I pulled her over to the double doors that opened out into the backyard. "You can relax there, you know," I pointed out, showing her the huge pool. The smile spread back over her face and I felt relief course through me. She'd be okay…we'd be okay. There was bound to be some sadness as she remembered her old life but in time and as she started to care about me more and more, she'd get beyond it. She had to. "Let's go upstairs."

She nodded and we walked hand in hand to the spiral staircase we'd both admired on the internet. Bella trailed her free left hand over the railing the whole way up and we turned left into a huge master suite. There was a very large king sized cherry bed in the middle of the room, along with a dresser and a couple night stands. There were several windows including a large bay with a padded seat. I knew, without a doubt, that Bella would curl up there and read constantly. I loved the mental image of her lost in a book while leaning against the wall with sunlight spilling across her skin. God I was whipped.

Sure enough, she dropped my hand and ran over to the window seat and plopped down, a huge grin on her face. "I can read right here! Oh, Edward, it's so perfect." I walked over to her and put my hand on her shoulder as we looked out the window together. There was a ton of open space closest to the house and beyond that forest and trees everywhere you could see. It was like we lived in our own little world. Jersey wasn't so fucking bad after all.

Bella darted up from the window seat and ran into the bathroom. I heard her let out a little squeal and went to see what she was so excited about. I didn't even try to keep the grin off my face when I saw the huge bathtub, Bella sitting inside it completely clothed and beaming as she stretched out. There was room enough for four people in the thing and it had white marble tile all around it and another huge window showing more of the open space around us. "I can read in here, too," she informed me happily.

"I can think of some other things you, no _we,_ could do in there," I informed her. She bit her lip and hopped out of the tub with a giggle.

"I'm sure you can," she said, rolling her eyes as she walked past me. She walked into the bedroom and stopped and stood by the bed. It took everything I had in me not to tackle her and take her then and there. "So, where's your room?" she asked, effectively deflating my fantasies. I growled and she giggled. "Well it's not like we need to sleep, right? I just need a place to put my clothes and this is it." She had a point but…

"A bed can and should be used for way more than sleep," I told her with a sexy purr. She bit her lip and ran her head over the dark blue bedspread, eying me nervously. I grinned at her discomfort and decided to play with her a little. I walked over to her and ran my hand up and down her arm. She shivered underneath my touch and I knew she wouldn't resist me for much longer. It just wasn't possible.

I kissed her cheek and she let out a tiny gasp as I trailed my lips over her jaw and down her neck, pressing soft kisses into the smooth skin as my fingers continued to move lightly over her arms. "You could read," I whispered into her throat, nipping gently after my words. She tilted her head to give me better access and I smiled against her skin. "You could watch TV," again punctuated with another love bite as she moaned. "You could play on the computer," I said, nibbling the curve between her neck and shoulder. "You could write." I bit the other side and her hands left the bed and found their way into my hair. "You could paint your toenails," I whispered seductively, nearly laughing at the image of Bella painting her nails. She didn't seem the type but who fucking knew? I worked my way back up her jaw and nibbled there before capturing her lips for a second. Her eyes, which had been closed, opened and I saw the dazed desire there. She was mine. "So you see, Bella, the bed has infinite uses. Can you think of any others?" Let's see if she was fucking brave enough to admit that she wanted me, finally.

She scowled and pushed me away from her. I fell back a couple of inches and laughed at the mutinous expression on her face. She was so fucking beautiful. A wicked grin suddenly appeared on her face and I nearly shouted with triumph. It was about fucking time. She was going to admit it! "I can think of one other thing, Edward, but I'd need your help with it," she purred. Edward Junior started doing a celebratory dance in my jeans.

I took a step closer to her and put my hands on her waist. "I am always ready and willing to help with all your needs, baby. What would you like me to do?"

She smiled sweetly and wrapped her arms around my neck, standing on her tiptoes and bringing her lips to within an inch of mine. "I need you," she whispered, leaning forward and pressing a tiny kiss on the right corner of my mouth, followed by a matching one on the left side as well. About fucking time she admitted that she needed me. "I need you," she murmured again, pressing her lips against mine for a second before pulling back just a bit and smiling up at me. "I need you," she stepped closer and brushed her body against my cock. I groaned and tightened my grip on her waist, seconds away from finally claiming what belonged to me at last. I couldn't wait to have her again.

Her lips touched mine briefly again before moving over my cheek and around to my left ear, which she nibbled for a second before sucking the lobe into her mouth. I felt like I was on fire and I started to tug at her sweater when she released my earlobe. "I need you," she whispered again and fuck if I would ever tire of hearing her say that. "I need you to get out your laptop and order me a vibrator." What the fuck? I pulled away and looked into her laughing red eyes and I swear I heard Edward Junior start sobbing in my pants. Jesus fucking Christ this woman was irritating.

"That wasn't fucking nice, Bella," I hissed, releasing my hold on her and turning to walk over to the window. Mother of fuck, I had to have her or I was going to explode and she fucking knew that and totally played me. _You played her first. _Fuck you. Maybe I had but she played dirtier. _And you admire her for it. _Maybe I did but that didn't mean it didn't piss me the fuck off either. Didn't she see that she was hurting both of us by resisting me?

I heard her move behind me and felt her hand settle on my right shoulder while her left arm snaked around my waist. I wanted to shrug her off and tell her to go the fuck away but I wasn't fucking capable of doing that. "Edward, I was just kidding," she said softly and I heard the regret in her voice. She was too kindhearted to revel in her victory and I loved that about her too. I certainly would have been crowing from the rooftops if she'd finally let me have her again. I didn't know what to fucking say so I just reached up and covered her hand with mine, enjoying the feeling of her pressed up close behind me. We stood there for awhile and watched as the sun started to come up over the horizon. I felt her lips move against my back and just for one moment I imagined she was actually kissing me. What a fucking joke that was right? Her left hand started stroking my abdomen and brushed over the button of my jeans and I pulled away abruptly. No way was I falling for that shit again.

"Do you want to eat?" I asked eventually, figuring we may as well get the fuck out of the bedroom if we weren't going to be doing any actual fucking in it.

"Sure," she said. I turned and saw her looking at me with some combination of sadness and regret. I started to walk to the door but her hand caught mine and I stopped and looked at her. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

"No big deal," I lied. It was a very fucking big deal and I was tired of the rejection. I'd leave her the fuck alone if that's what she wanted. Hell, maybe that was the fucking key. If I acted indifferent to her maybe she'd finally give in. It was worth a shot. Bella looked like she wanted to say something else but I didn't want to hear it and I needed to get the fuck out of the bedroom before I forgot my resolution to leave her alone and attacked her.

We walked down the stairs and out the front door. One sniff of the air told me where the cow was and we headed east. There was a muted glow as the sun had not yet risen all the way and Bella's skin had a lovely sheen to it but wasn't the blinding beauty it would be in about an hour. She was still fucking gorgeous though and I sighed at the sight of her. We came to the pasture area and I hopped over the wooden fence, showing Bella that climbing it was not necessary. She scrunched up her face and then took a couple running steps and leapt, clearing the four feet with about three feet to spare. Her face lit up with a smile and I felt my anger melting away at the sight of her happiness. I was such a fucking pussy.

The cow was grazing at the far end of the pasture, chewing on grass and either unaware or unconcerned with our presence. Bella walked toward it slowly, as if she thought the fucking thing was going to attack her. It was actually rather hilarious to see how cautious she was. I walked past her and strode right up to the thing, wrinkling my nose in disgust at the smell. Manure and dirt and grass…there was nothing remotely appetizing about the scent. The cow glanced at me but kept right on chewing on her breakfast. Cows were clearly dumb as fuck and didn't recognize a predator when it was about to eat them.

Bella stood next to me and watched the cow with interest for a few minutes. I waited impatiently for her to get with the biting but she didn't seem to be in any hurry. She walked around it slowly, as if sizing up her opponent. It was actually kind of fucking cute and I grinned at her serious expression as she circled the animal. She may have been a cockblocking tease but she was still delightful. The breeze was rifling her dark hair and she seemed in her element out in nature.

She stepped closer to the animal and reached toward it tentatively. It was about fucking time. Snap that neck and get with the drinking, sweetheart. Her hand found the top of the cows head and she patted it. What the fuck? Then she drew her hand over the head and alongside its back. She was petting the motherfucking cow. It mooed in approval, I guess, not attempting to get away from her. Was she lulling it into complacency? How much more complacent could it be? "Bella, what are you doing?"

She looked up at me as if she'd forgotten I was there, so caught up was she in petting her fucking meal before she killed it. "She likes me," she said, continuing to stroke the animal. Jesus, if she wanted something to stroke I was right fucking here.

"That's because she's clearly stupid as fuck and doesn't know a threat when it's touching her," I informed her testily. Could she get on with already so we could call this a failure and get on with eating the proper way? I was ready and willing to continue to live in Jersey, we could commute to New York whenever we needed to feed.

"You're not stupid are you?" Bella crooned, petting the cow on the head as it continued to moo in approval. It actually seemed to like her, shifting closer to her touch. Well, I could fucking relate to wanting Bella's hands on me. Great, now I was comparing myself to a fucking cow. Would my humiliation never end?

"Bella, are you going to eat the thing or are you going to pet it until it dies of old age?" I asked, irritated as I watched her sexy little hands give more affection to the cow than she'd given me anytime soon, the fuckery in the bedroom not counting since it wasn't real.

Bella looked between me and the cow for a few seconds. What the fuck was going on with her? "She likes me," she repeated. So the fuck what? I raised an eyebrow at her and thrust my hand for her to continue. "I never had a pet." Oh fuck no. She had to be kidding. "I want to call her Willow," she told me, smiling as she continued to stroke the bovine.

"You can't be serious," I said, disbelief echoing in my tone.

"I want to keep her," she told me. "Can I?" What the fuck was I supposed to say to that? No? I didn't want to eat the fucking cow so if she wasn't going to, I guess we were stuck with it.

"What will you eat?" I asked. If she was ready to give up this animal farce then I'd buy her a whole herd of cows to tend whenever we weren't in the city.

Her brow furrowed for a moment and then she smiled. Fuck, this was not going to be good news, I could tell. "Come with me," she said, taking my hand and leading me toward the forest. What fucking now?

* * *

**A/N Oh, Smugs, that poor blind bastard, he had her and he didn't even realize it. He just can't catch a break, can he? **

**After my betrayal of him, yet again, he asked me to let you know that the Shimmer Awards are still open. Go to www(dot)shimmerawards(dot)webs(dot)com and hit the vote button. He's up for Adonis and First & Ten is up for best quote. We'd love some votes!**

**Team Smugward has raised $155 so far in the Fandom Gives Back Auction. That means 4 outtakes with more to come if they break $200. If you're interested in joining, contact Starla at hippiestarr(at)gmail(dot)com A huge, heartfelt thank you to those who have contributed, I'm thrilled beyond belief at the response!**

**Sorry for the mini-delay in the chapter, the beta was out of town. I'll be back on schedule next chapter I promise. Thanks, as always, for reading.**

**I'm chatty today, aren't I? I saw Eclipse earlier and loved it, for the most part. How about you?**


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N More down below but wanted to let you know that there's a poll on my profile for the final 2 outtakes from Fandom Gives Back. Team Smugward raised nearly $200 and earned 4 outtakes. They selected BPOV of chapter 1 and a Jenk's outtake and the other 2 are open for vote. Please, go and let me know what you want to see!**

Taste of Innocence Chapter 14

I didn't know what the fuck I was doing following the infuriating girl into the woods but there I was, trailing along behind her like the whipped motherfucker that I had become. Was it seriously less than two weeks ago that I was a happy-go-lucky vampire, fucking and sucking my way through life? My biggest complication then had been what vermin I would eradicate. Those had definitely been easier days.

_But were they better days? Do you really wish you hadn't ever met Bella? _Of course I didn't fucking wish that. I just wished there was some way to make her slightly more fucking cooperative than she'd been up to this point but I didn't want to do things differently. Bella was mine…it was an incontrovertible fact. We belonged together and I felt that in every fiber of my being. I just wished something could be fucking easy with her.

Yes, I wished said easy thing would be sex but I'd take her eating like a normal vampire or maybe managing to maintain the same mood for more than five minutes at any given time as well. I was truly beginning to worry that she was mentally unstable, beyond being a newborn. I'd have to hack into her school files and see if there was any kind of history of insanity in her or any family members. It would really explain quite a lot.

She grinned at me as we reached the edge of the trees and led the way into the forest surrounding our property. "Do you want to tell me what the fuck we're doing out here?" I asked somewhat testily. I couldn't help it though, she was so fucking frustrating.

"Well, I can't kill Willow," she told me matter-of-factly, like that should have been common fucking knowledge. Like I hadn't made Jenks go to the fucking trouble of acquiring a cow for her to eat and then have her turn up her nose at it. What the fuck were we going to do with a pet cow? I didn't know shit about cows except that they stank and were apparently fucking dumb. And they ate grass. What else? Oh hell no…

"Just so you know; there is no way on God's green earth that I am going to milk that fucking thing, Bella. She's your cow so you're going to have to take care of that." I got a mental picture of Bella sitting on a stool with her hair in braids, wearing some ridiculously old fashioned blue and white checkered dress and cheerfully squeezing the fucking cow tits into a metal pail. The fact that that image made Edward Junior start to stir was really fucking disturbing. Maybe I should look into my own family history on the mental insanity thing. Or maybe it's contagious. That would explain a lot.

Bella let out a little giggle that did nothing to help with the situation with my masochistic fucking cock and turned to throw her arms around me. I resisted the hug for a second but felt my resolve break as she burrowed her nose into my chest and squeezed me affectionately. How could I fucking resist that shit? I buried my nose in her hair and inhaled her intoxicating floral fragrance again. Would I ever get enough of her? _No. _Thanks, asstard, I wasn't asking you, it was a rhetorical fucking question. I know how whipped I am, thank you very much.

"While I enjoy the hug, Bella, that's not going to work on me. You have to take care of the damn thing." I was going to stay firm on this, no matter how good she felt in my arms.

She titled her head up and grinned at me. "I'll take care of her, but you need to help me figure out how." How the fuck was I supposed to do that? I'd never been a farmer…I'd never even eaten a fucking farmer, not that I would have absorbed anything from that experience anyway. "Could we look it up on the computer when we get back?"

Thank God for the Internet. "Yes." I also had something else to look up while I was at it. She may have been fucking with me but damned if I wasn't going to teach her a lesson. If she wanted a vibrator, she'd get a vibrator. Several of them, in fact. One of us may as well get fucking laid, somehow. _You really are a dipshit, you know that? You'll only be torturing yourself. What if she actually fucking uses it with you in the house? _I heard Edward Junior whimper at the thought and bit back a groan myself. Yes, it would drive me to the brink of insanity if I wasn't already there but she had it coming, right? And it would be fucking hot as hell, even if I wasn't involved. I could hear and smell and…fuck. May as well reserve myself a suite at Bellevue pronto. It would be worth it though, probably.

"Thank you, Edward!" She let me go and I felt the loss of her touch immediately. Maybe she felt it as well because she took my hand in hers and we descended further into the forest.

"Do you want to tell me what we're doing here?" If she wanted to explore the land we could do it, but why we were walking like regular fucking humans was beyond me. I wanted to see her run and the sun would be up any minute, not that you could see it through the lush foliage surrounding us.

"Finding something to eat." Right, of course.

"And just what do you think you're going to find roaming around here?" If she said a squirrel I would fucking lose my mind, even more so than I already had.

"I don't know…what kind of wildlife do they have here? I was thinking maybe a wolf? Deer? A mountain lion? A bear?" Fucking hell.

"How in the hell would I know what kind of wildlife they have in Jersey? I can't say I ever felt the need to know that and I could happily live the rest of my life never knowing. Why don't we just go back to New York, I'll find us a nice murderer or two and we can eat and then come back home so you can play with that ridiculous cow some more."

She stopped and glared at me, dropping my hand and crossing her arms underneath her perky breasts. Fuck she was hot and I couldn't fucking have her and if I couldn't have her then I couldn't have anyone else because she was all that I wanted. I was going to use the opportunity of wandering through the forest to find a proper burial site for Edward Junior, since he was now completely useless. He really deserved more than an anonymous grave in the woods but it was all I had right now…really he should have one of those huge marble shrines that they build for important families. _Here lies Edward Junior; he saw, he conquered and he came, a lot. The world weeps over the loss of a legend. 1915-2009. _

"You promised that I could try it my way! I haven't even tried to eat an animal yet!" she shouted, her lip poking out in a pretty pout that I wanted to bite. But I couldn't because I was not going to face anymore fucking rejection today.

"Did I not get you the fucking animal you asked for? You didn't even consider eating it. What makes you think you'll do any better with a deer or a fucking bear? Won't you like them too? Is there anyone you don't like, other than me?" I demanded, more than a little pissed off that she kept rejecting every fucking thing I gave her. Immortality, me, blood, the fucking cow, my cock…nothing made her happy.

Bella bit her lip and shrugged. "I don't know…it's just, she just stood there, you know? I've been afraid that I'm some kind of monster that would terrify everyone and everything that came across me from now on; that for eternity I could never get close to anyone or anything again." I felt a pang of hurt at her words…did she think that of me? That I was some monster that nobody could be near? I didn't know what to fucking say so I didn't say anything at all, just staring at the ground like it might yield some answers. Where was the know-it-all motherfucker when I needed his help? Fucking wuss.

She slipped her hand back in mine and I forced myself to look at her. "I know you're not a monster, Edward. You're able to be around people when you want to, but you don't want to that often it seems. Just to hunt, right? You don't have any friends or family." Her voice cracked on the word family and I felt fucking guilt wash over me again. If I thought it would do any good I'd go to Washington and bite her father this instant but I knew she'd never forgive me for that.

"No, I don't have either of those things," I told her truthfully. Neither would she. "Humans have a bad habit of dying, Bella. Their lives are finite while ours are endless. You'd just have to sit back and watch them die, and you'd have to do it from afar since you would never age. What's the point in even trying?"

"I know," she assured me. "It's just hard to wrap my head around, you know? No more Alice and Rose dragging me out to bars when I should be studying. No more forced makeovers and gossip sessions. I'm learning to accept that, even though I don't like it." Again, I had no words other than sorry. And while I was sorry that she'd had to give all that and more up, I wasn't sorry that she was here with me now. It was where she belonged and in time she'd know that as well.

"Anyway…I can't have my family or my friends and I get that. And maybe it's stupid but when Willow didn't run away in fear, it just made me feel good, like maybe I could have something, even if it was only a pet. Before you say anything, yes, I know she'll die eventually. But not at my hand."

"I'm sorry." It was still all I could think of to say and I didn't know if she knew what I was apologizing for but she smiled and squeezed my hand and turned back to the trees.

"Let's go see what we can find. Can you help me? Do you smell anything that might be an animal?" It was certainly something I'd never tried to do before but I supposed I could give it a shot.

"Even better would be listening for a heartbeat. It won't sound the same as a humans but a beating heart is a beating heart, right?" I breathed deeply but the only scent I caught, other than Bella's, was the trees and the dirt. "Let's head a little bit west and see what we can find. And, Bella? We don't have to walk. Run with me and we'll both keep our eyes and noses and ears peeled, okay?"

She gave me a happy grin and I felt a tug on my heart again. I wanted her like nothing else but taking her had driven a wedge between us that seemed impossible to overcome. Would she ever let me have her? And I didn't mean sexually…I wasn't a fucking moron. I knew I could fuck her eventually but her body was only part of what I wanted now. It would be so much easier if I just wanted that alone though. This love shit fucking sucked, not in the good way.

"That way," I pointed and she took off, laughter ringing out behind her as she darted around trees like a seasoned pro. I watched her, her brown hair streaming behind her and her face glowing with something akin to happiness and I had to believe that she would be mine, eventually. There was just no way I'd lived over a century before finding love only to have it elude me. I refused to believe that. She'd love me, she had to. I was fucking irresistible anyway, right?

Bella was about a quarter mile ahead of me when I finally decided to stop watching her and took off after her. Fuck, it felt good to run and let loose again. I hadn't done this enough. That was one of the problems with hunting in the city; I really didn't get to use any of my skills. Killing was absurdly easy, all I had to do was follow someone around a corner and have at them. I hadn't chased down a meal in quite some time. I should have done this country shit much sooner.

I felt the wind caressing my body as I sped through the trees. Bella was fast but I was faster; I didn't know if it was from having run track when I was human or if I was just gifted in that way just like with the mind reading. Either way, I enjoyed the hell out of the feeling of freedom as I let loose and ran full out. Bella giggled in delight when I caught up to her and we ran side by side, hopping over fallen branches and various rocks. Watching Bella experience one of the truly good things about being a vampire was intoxicating and made me feel more and more like she could eventually be happy with this life. She just needed time and Lord knew I had a shitload of that to spare, even if it was torturous.

Another twenty yards in, I smelled something strange and I signaled Bella with a hand to stop. Much to my utter amazement she actually did. Who fucking knew she could listen? We both paused and looked to the right. There was a faint sound about half a mile away and I knew it was a heartbeat. It was slower than I was used to and I didn't find the sound remotely seductive like a human's heartbeat did when I was on a hunt. Still, this wasn't for me so we needed to check it out. "Do you hear that?" I murmured, too softly for anyone but Bella to hear. She nodded. "It's an animal, I don't know what. Do you want to go after it?"

She looked nervous, chewing anxiously on that sexy lower lip of hers, but she nodded resolutely. "Okay then, run quietly toward that sound. Whatever it is, it's not likely to be as docile as your cow. It will run, but you're faster than it will be, I'm sure of it." I really had no fucking idea if this was true, as I'd yet to race against an animal and never planned to, but I knew what we could do and I was fairly confident in my statement. She needed encouragement now anyway. "Go, I'll be right behind you." She eyed me for a moment and then took off in the direction of the heartbeat. I admired the beauty of Bella on the hunt for a moment before following silently behind her.

Her blue jeans hugged her tight ass perfectly as she silently leapt over a fallen log and Edward Junior was back at full mast again. She was exquisite, a deadly creature stalking her prey. I knew it would be hot as hell to watch her on the hunt but I hadn't really expected it to be quite this hot; especially when she was hunting the wrong fucking animal entirely. It didn't seem to matter though; I wanted her with everything I had in me.

Bella disappeared behind a large boulder and I quickly raced after her, not wanting to miss a moment of her first real kill; Jacob the whiny douche aside. That had been cool as fuck but over way too quickly to truly enjoy it. It was a shame; I would have liked to watch her toy with him awhile first. I'd have to settle for her toying with whatever the fuck smelled so unappetizing. How she could even contemplate eating it was beyond me. It smelled very similar to the dirt and trees, which was hardly appealing.

She came to a complete stop about twenty yards ahead of me and I ran up next to her and halted at the site before me. There was a little stream, trickling gently over moss covered rocks and discarded branches. It was actually a very peaceful spot in the middle of the woods and I thought it would be a good place to come whenever she annoyed the fuck out of me. That meant that I should probably build a fucking cabin out here since I'd probably spend a lot of time in this very spot.

I followed Bella's gaze and saw a few deer drinking from the stream, a large buck, a female and a baby. I had to bite back a snort of laughter because I would bet money that Bella wasn't about to slay a fawn. There was a frown on her face and for once I knew exactly what she was thinking. She looked between me and the deer several times and she got more and more frustrated with each glance. I could see her shoulders tensing and her eyes were narrowed into angry slits, probably at my obvious amusement over the situation. But fuck, she had to admit it was funny. She was too damn tenderhearted to kill a baby animal and she refused to kill human scum, so what was she left with?

She whirled away and stalked back through the trees, heading back toward where we were prior to hearing her aborted meal. I followed her, finally letting loose with the laughter, though I kept it silent so she wouldn't know what I was doing. She turned back and hissed at me so I guess she fucking knew anyway, but come on. It was hilarious.

She climbed on the rock she'd vaulted over earlier but this time she sat down on it and crossed her arms, the frown marring her lovely features. I sat down beside her and waited for the tirade to begin. "Go ahead and laugh some more," she told me petulantly, that lip poking out again. She must fucking know just how much it tormented me when she pulled that pouting move.

"I think it's mostly out of my system," I responded, grateful that she wasn't throwing punches at least.

"Well then, why don't you say it? You know you're dying to."

Say what? I told you so? Did she think I was that fucking stupid? _You are. _No, I'm not. I do have a fucking filter occasionally and I have an even stronger sense of self preservation. _Since when? _Shut the fuck up, seriously. You were nowhere to be found when I needed you so go the fuck away. Bella may be crazy but she's _my _crazy and I'm not going to kick her when she's down.

"Look, Bella, so you can't kill a little deer family. You just have to look for something else, an animal by itself. Let's keep looking and give it a try before you give up." What the fuck was I doing? I was suddenly a spandex wearing cheerleader. Next thing I knew I'd be wearing a sparkly pink tutu and braiding Bella's hair. Fuck, I was ridiculous.

She looked up at me through her lashes and my fucking cock responded as if on cue. He was like Pavlov's fucking dogs when it came to her. It had to be witchcraft…maybe that's how this fucking love thing happened. It was a damn spell she had me under. _Do you want to be free from it? _ Did I? Not exactly, I suppose, I just wanted her. Was that so fucking much to ask?

"Really? You're encouraging me to keep trying? Isn't this what you want? For me to fail so we can go on killing sprees together?" She spat the words at me accusingly, because of course she'd gone from sad to mad in five seconds flat. How the fuck could I ever keep up with her mood swings? Perma-PMS…I'd sentenced myself to a lifetime of this insanity.

I sighed and slung my left arm around her. "I'm not going to lie and say I wouldn't prefer it if you decided to kill humans, Bella. But we came out here specifically so you could try this animal thing and you need to see it through. You'll always wonder if you could have done it your way if you don't give it a chance and I don't want you carrying that around forever." Seriously, was that me talking? Maybe asshole had taken over and was now my outer voice as well because it sounded like pussy shit he would say, not me. Bella seemed to like it though, because she leaned into my shoulder and sat quietly for several minutes. I enjoyed the feeling of her nestled into my side and the blessed silence that reigned. I'd actually made her feel better, it seemed.

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath and sitting up. "I'm ready to try again." She pushed off the boulder and I climbed down with her. "I want to find it myself, if that's okay?" She looked at me, her crimson eyes pleading with me to step back and let her take control. I had no problem with that and gestured her ahead. I certainly didn't mind the view from behind; her tight little body was hardly a hardship on my eyes.

She broke into a full run again as she ran to the south this time. She vaulted over some more large branches and rocks and though I couldn't see her expression, I could see her joy in her movement. I was ridiculously happy that she was starting to see some of the good that came with being a vampire; it wasn't all limitations and loneliness. And as soon as she let me the fuck into both her body and her heart, she'd never feel lonely again. I'd see to it.

She halted abruptly and cocked her head, listening for something. I stopped next to her and did the same. Faintly, mixed in with the sound of rustling leaves and the softness of the trickling water, I heard it again; a solid, steady heartbeat, stronger than that of the deer. Their heartbeats had been so soft that it had been impossible to distinguish that there were three of them. This, whatever it was, was stronger and it was definitely alone and fairly close by.

Bella sniffed the air and I followed suit. There was a more distinctive odor this time; definitely not a deer. It was a darker scent, tangy with a hint of spice. Danger. It was an animal, no doubt about it, but it seemed like something stronger, a predator just like we were. I had no idea how I fucking knew that but it was the same thing with some people; particularly the ones I killed. There was something in the blood, some flavor that hinted at the madness within I guess. This animal had that same kind of scent attached to it and I was surprised to find myself both somewhat drawn to the scent as well as nervous about it.

What the fuck was that about? Bella could handle herself; it didn't matter if a fucking dinosaur awaited her, it wouldn't cause a scratch. But she raised my protective instincts at all times and I didn't like the thought of her being near whatever that was. And then the most fucked up part of it was that I wouldn't mind a taste of whatever it was myself. What the hell was that? I had never had the urge to drink from an animal and I sure as fuck was not going to give into it now. Still, the scent was moderately appealing. It had nothing on human blood but I imagined it would be a semi-decent substitute.

And that was fucking disturbing as well. For all my encouragement and wanting Bella to try, I didn't really want her to succeed and if the scent held appeal to me, then surely it did her as well. She'd yet to move but her nostrils were flaring, which was rather fucking cute, and she stared in the direction of the unknown animal as if it was all that existed for her in that moment. Much like when I was about to feed from a human. This fucking sucked. I waved goodbye to yet another dream of us killing side by side. One by one Bella popped all my fucking fantasy balloons until there was nothing left besides sex, and that one was deflating rapidly.

_Quit your fucking whining, you're turning into one of those broody TV vampires that you claim to hate so fucking much. _The hell I am! Just because I'm unhappy to see my dreams go to shit doesn't mean I'm brooding. _The hell it doesn't. You don't even know if she'll like whatever it is. Just because the smell doesn't disgust you doesn't mean it'll taste any good. _That was true and I was slightly mollified, but I knew Bella and I knew my luck lately so I was preparing for the worst. And there was nothing fucking wrong with that.

Bella reached over and stroked my hand and I stared at her in surprise. Sometimes I thought she was the fucking mind reader. How did she know I was…alright, I was fucking brooding, so what? I gave her what I hoped was a supportive smile and turned my hand over and squeezed hers and nodded her toward the scent. She needed my reassurance right now, despite my misgivings about her going up against whatever that thing was.

She answered my smile with a blindingly beautiful one of her own before raising my hand to hers and kissing the back of it. I jolted in shock as she dropped it and took off toward the aroma. It took me ten whole seconds to function again, my body having rooted itself to the spot at the touch of her lips on my skin. What the fuck was that about? She'd just cockblocked me hard in the bedroom and now she was kissing my hand like some prince from a black and white movie. Jesus Christ, she was fucking confusing.

And right now she was also pretty far ahead of me and I didn't want to miss a second of her first hunt, even if she was hunting the wrong fucking thing. I raced after her, getting within ten yards but hanging back. I remembered, all too vividly, what my first hunt had been like. While the prey had been different, the emotions likely weren't. I'd nearly taken off Victoria's head when she got too close to me as I bore down on the sweet scent. Bella's penchant for kicking my ass would not come in handy in this situation so I hung back a little.

I watched as Bella scrambled atop another boulder and crouched down. Fuck she was gorgeous, her red eyes narrowed into slits as she eyed the creature she was about to make into her first solo meal. I approached gingerly and heard a slight growl coming from her but she remained intently focused on whatever was down the slope. I stayed out of harm's way as I edged about five feet away from her and glanced around the gray rock.

Holy fuck, it was a black bear. It was rubbing its back against the bark of a large elm tree and grunting in what could only be described as pleasure. The wind blew its scent straight toward us and I felt my body tighten with the urge to strike. Seriously, what the fuck was wrong with me? That bear had nothing on a human…clearly I needed to get back to the city and hunt pronto. Since I had some other things to do, I'd go tonight, once I knew Bella was sated. Well, her hunger at least. I'd like to make sure other things were satiated as well but she was ridiculously fucking uncooperative on that front.

I checked the urge to go after the bear myself and watched Bella. Her eyes had gone black as the scent of the animal washed over us and any interest I had in the creature below was completely gone at the sight of her. She was completely focused on the bear, her body tensed and ready to spring at any time. I licked my lips, a new hunger driving me, and took a step toward her.

She let out a low, guttural growl that had Edward Junior at full mast again. Fuck, she was gorgeous when she was warning me away from her prey. She'd be glorious if she ever went at a human. I had a mental picture of her throwing me into a wall with one hand as she pinned her prey with the other and it was hot as hell. Was it too much to ask that I get to experience that with her? Watch her drain some insignificant human and then use the rest of that pent up aggression on me…I would give everything I had for that to happen.

I froze at the sound coming out of her throat, for though I wanted to touch her more than anything I valued my limbs too much to risk it. The bear stopped rubbing his ass all over the fucking tree and looked up at Bella crouched above him. He let out a growl of his own but didn't run away from her, as he'd yet to catch her scent and didn't realize that there was more to her than met the eye. Her lips curled into a sneer as she let out an even louder noise in response to the bear's challenge. I bit back an instinctive growl of my own, not wanting to draw attention to myself. This was their battle, I was just here to witness it and fuck if I wasn't hard as a rock from the verbal sparring alone.

The bear's black fur bristled as it took a few lumbering steps closer and rose up on its back feet, almost giving her a come-ahead gesture with its giant paws. Bella didn't take long to think about the invitation, springing off the rock and launching herself straight into the bear's waiting arms. Fuck, it was just like when she'd attacked me after I purposely spilled that blood on myself and I felt a little envious of the creature as she barreled into his embrace. And that was fucking ridiculous, being jealous of Bella's meal. But I wanted her to tackle the fuck out of me just like that.

The bears claws attempted to find purchase in Bella's head but did nothing more than scrape over her skull ineffectively, though an ear-splitting sound accompanied the move, like nails on a fucking chalkboard. I gritted my teeth as the noise assaulted my ears and felt relief when Bella jerked her head out of his hold and snapped at his neck. The bear tried to jerk his head away but her tiny hands reached out and grasped at his face.

She didn't flinch as his strong teeth snapped at her small bones but I did, my own hands grinding into the rock as I fought to hold myself in place and not interfere in her hunt. Still, I was fucking petrified along with being insanely aroused. I didn't think the bear could harm Bella but it was possible that he was strong enough to remove one of her limbs and I didn't want her to ever experience that kind of pain. I'd been there and done that thanks to Victoria and I would cut off my own arm before I let Bella go through the pain of having her body put back together.

Bella seemed wholly unconcerned with her proximity to sharp teeth though and again she instinctively lunged for the bear's throat. The movement toppled both of them over, so that they were rolling on the ground, each one trying to seek the leverage to end the other. They slammed into the very tree that the bear had been using as a scratching post and it broke with a deafening crack, falling in the opposite direction that they continued to roll.

I climbed onto the boulder so that I could throw myself into the fray if needed and watched the show below me. The bear was a fighter but Bella was stronger and her teeth sank into his arm as he attempted to swat her off him. He let out a loud roar of pain that echoed through the trees and his other paw again struck Bella in the head. I winced at the loud cracking sound but she stayed intact and continued her assault on her overmatched opponent.

Now that I no longer feared for her life I was able to enjoy the spectacle for what it was and Edward Junior continued to fight against my jeans zipper. Clearly he wasn't quite ready for the retirement I'd envisioned for him only an hour or so ago. I patted him through my pants and gave him a mental apology at my overreaction to yet another cockblock. I would have her. I had to. Look at her, fearlessly wrestling with a bear because she wanted to be a good person and not take human lives. How could I not love a person like that? I'd never stood a fucking chance, had I?

Bella's teeth pierced the bear's skin again, this time on his left shoulder, close to the jugular but not quite there. He bucked against her but she held on like a champ and tried again, this time her teeth finding purchase just where they needed to be. The bear thrashed underneath her and I admired the way she held on tenaciously, her throat moving as she swallowed the blood. The bear's struggles grew weaker beneath her and I watched as its eyes glazed over and its paws fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Bella continued to drink, making a bit of mess if I was honest, not that that wasn't fucking hot as hell. Seeing my girl covered in blood, even if it was an animal's, made me whimper with want and need. I held onto the boulder to keep myself from going to her, from throwing her down next to the bear's carcass and ravaging her right on the spot. I would lick every single drop of that semi-appetizing blood from her lips and her neck, work my way down her body and lick every inch of her, until I tasted nothing but pure Bella. She was better than the best blood and I hungered for her as she continued to drain the bear completely.

Bella let out a little grunt and I could tell there was little blood left so I hopped off the boulder and approached her slowly. She whirled around as I got close, her black eyes snapping at me as she let out another ferocious growl, clutching the carcass to herself possessively. I held up my hands in supplication and stopped walking, shaking my head as I let her know without words that I wasn't taking her kill away from her. I knew she was not in the state of mind to listen to anything I had to say and could only hope that my gestures were enough.

They seemed to be because she sank her teeth into the fur again and I stayed where I was, watching her suck the last few drops out of her victim. She bit the other side of the neck but that was fruitless as there was nothing more to get and she threw the body down with an angry huff. I stayed where I was as she slowly unfurled herself off the ground and got to her feet. She was seven feet away from me and though I longed to cover the distance, I didn't, waiting to see if she'd come to me.

Her ebony eyes met mine and her tongue darted out to lick the blood off her lips. I didn't even try to suppress a moan at the sight of her pink tongue moving slowly over her lips as she savored the taste. She kept that up as she walked slowly, torturously slowly, toward me. My hands balled into fists in an attempt not to reach out and grab her as she got to within an arm's length and stopped.

There was blood on her neck and collarbones, as well as staining her blue t-shirt. I reached a tentative finger out and ran it softly over down her throat, all the while those black eyes stayed focused on me. I brought my finger to my lips and put it in my mouth, tasting that tangy flavor I'd scented in the air. It wasn't bad and I wanted to taste more so I ran two fingers over her throat and sucked the blood off of them. Bella just watched me, her eyes seeming to darken even more at the sight of me tasting her kill.

I reached for her again and she reached out and grabbed my shirt with her right hand, pushing me away from the bear. I wondered if she was still protecting her kill as I let her guide me backwards until my back rested against a tree. I watched and waited as she stepped closer to me, only two inches separating our bodies. Edward Junior was more than a little aware of her proximity, trying his damndest to bust through my zipper and get to her.

I reached out and caressed her cheek, smearing some blood over her silken skin and wishing I could just…

"Lick it off me," she demanded huskily, her voice still carrying some of that sexy growl.

Had I heard right or was I completely fucking delusional now? "What?"

"Lick it off me," she said again, her coal eyes snapping at me.

Fuck yes!

* * *

**A/N Has the time finally come? You'll know in two weeks! Don't kill me, I promise I'll have you smiling soon if you're not already!**

**The Vampies are up for voting and Smugs is nominated in 4 categories, including funniest which makes me happy and character you'd most like to bite you which makes him VERY happy. You can vote over at www(dot)twificpics(dot)com(slash)vampawards(slash)?page(underscore)id(equals)198. I'll link it in the profile as well.**

**The Zazzle store has a Smugward shirt that I'm right fond of and I think proceeds still go to Alex's Lemonade Stand. I'll link that in the profile too. So lots of reasons to hit the profile, including to vote! I'll announce what wins in the next update, so you have two weeks to get your votes in.**


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N Lots of good stuff below; but without further adieu:**

Taste of Innocence Chapter 15

Lick me…she'd fucking said that, right? I hadn't officially gone mad and imagined the whole thing, had I? That was Bella, my Bella, standing in front of me with black eyes demanding that I lick blood off her. I wasn't hallucinating, this was happening. It had to be, because God was not that fucking cruel was He?

Who was I kidding? Of course He fucking was. He was probably sitting up there laughing His ass off as I got cockblocked time and time again. What was the trick here? If I stuck my tongue out would she rip it off and hurl it in the forest? Was she going to knee Edward Junior again? Or, even worse, was she going to let me lick the blood off of her succulent body and then leave me high and dry afuckingain like in the bedroom?

I had no clue what the fuck to do but I knew what I wanted to do and that was to touch my tongue to her cheek, her neck and down her body, making her scream my name over and over again. _So stop being such a fucking pussy and make your move, jackass. She's giving you the go-ahead. Do you need a damn engraved invitation? _No, fucktard, I do not, I'm just trying to make sure I'm not about to get my ass handed me for the hundredth time. Is that alright with you?

_Sure, pansy, it's completely fine. The longer you take to make a move, the higher the odds are that you'll cockblock yourself yet again and then you'll have nobody to blame but yourself; though of course you'll try to blame me because you don't own your own fucking actions. _Excuse me, what about all that I'm you and you're me bullshit? Now you're trying to separate us? Fuck you, buddy, you will be to blame if I fuck this up.

_You should tell her you love her before you fuck her. _Oh right, like I was going to bring that bullshit up right now? Taint everything with fucking feelings? You're just trying to make Edward Junior run screaming again and it's not going to fucking work. He's here, he's hard and he's going to fuck, finally. And I better not hear word one from you while I'm doing it. Go the fuck away, back into that little fucking place that you hide whenever I actually need you. You're not required in the here and now, if there's one thing I know how to do, it's fuck.

_Okay but I'm just telling you, you'll be better off if you tell her you love her. She's less likely to regret it once the heat of the moment has rubbed off and…_Shut the ever living fuck up right now. She will never regret fucking me. _She probably already does, seeing as you ended her life the last time. _Seriously, I'm going to drive a fucking spike through my head if you don't shut the fuck up. That would have to silence you. _And ruin your pretty face? That'll be the day. _He had a fucking point; that would just be cruel of me to do to myself and the rest of the world that got the pleasure of looking at me. God I hated that fucker. Go the fuck away. I've got this.

Thankfully, the asshole seemed to listen and Bella was still waiting patiently while I had an insane argument with the fucker in my head instead of immediately complying with her demand, like I should have been doing. Her eyes remained on me and her chest was heaving as she watched me. "You want me to lick you?" I repeated, because I had to make damn sure that I wasn't making shit up and she had really and truly said it. I wouldn't put it past the fucker in my head to make that up to torture me further. Please, say yes and I will lick every inch of you, Bella.

"Yes, lick it off me." I let out a little whimper at her words and reached out and ran my thumb over her lips, drawing some dribbles off the corner of her mouth and painting her mouth a darker shade of red.

I leaned forward, ever so slowly and licked my own lips in anticipation of what was about to come. Hopefully me, several times over. Definitely Bella, more than several times. I'd see to that if it was the last thing I ever fucking did.

After what seemed like hours but was only about three seconds, my lips were right in front of Bella's. She didn't blink, her eyes staying focused on mine as my tongue darted out of my mouth and at fucking last touched her soft ruby lips. I groaned at the explosion of flavor on my tongue as it made contact with her perfect little mouth. The taste of Bella combined with the spicy rich taste of the bear's blood was almost more than I could fucking stand and I thought I was going to come right then and there. Thankfully I had a little more control than a fucking virgin on prom night though and Edward Junior had too much dignity than to soil my damn pants when he should be coming inside Bella. It was probably a good thing it wasn't human blood though, I probably would have lost it completely and humiliated myself.

Bella breathed a sigh as I slowly traced my tongue over every millimeter of her luscious lips, finally slipping my tongue inside her mouth as I wrapped my hands around her waist and pulled her to me. I had to feel her body pressed to mine, so I knew she was fucking real and I wasn't just losing my mind anymore than I already had. Even better, her tongue started moving against mine, lapping at me just as hungrily as I was her. Fucking finally.

She tasted like every good thing I could dredge up from my humanity; candy and flowers and cinnamon and mint; but somehow she was better than all of those combined. She was sweetness edged with danger, light mixed with darkness…she was fucking intoxicating. The blood made her taste even better, which I never thought possible. My hands tightened on her waist as I devoured her lips. She moaned and her fingers wound into my hair, tugging the ends as she pulled me closer to her. I couldn't get close enough, though, not until I was inside her.

I tore my lips from hers as we both gasped for air. I didn't need to breathe but I wanted to, to inhale her sweet scent, to have her inside of me the only way I could now that her blood wasn't an option. Blood…ah, yes, I couldn't have her blood but I could have the next best thing, blood mixed with her delectable flavor. I ran my tongue over her right cheek, lapping up the blood I'd smeared there earlier with my thumb. Her eyes closed and her hands clutched at my head, holding me to her, fucking guiding my tongue as it trailed along her jaw and dipped beneath her chin. How fucking hot was that?

I groaned as I reached her neck, licking down that beautiful curve of pale skin, circling my tongue over her collar bone, tracing a line from one to the other and making my way back up the other side of her neck. My grip on her waist tightened to the point of what would have been pain on a human but she didn't utter a sound of protest, tugging my hair gently and letting her head fall back in complete fucking surrender. Fuck, she'd never been hotter than at that moment, completely lost in from the feeling of my tongue moving over her. I nipped her chin, causing her eyes to flash open in surprise and then a beautiful smile lit her face, making her obsidian eyes sparkle. My heart clenched at the sight of her and I opened my mouth. I was going to do it; tell this incredible creature that I loved her and maybe, no, definitely, she was going to say it back.

"More," she growled, yanking my head back to her neck. I didn't know whether I should be thankful or upset that she'd kept me from revealing my ridiculous feelings but it was hard to care overly much when I was running my tongue over her silky skin as she fucking started to purr beneath me. Jesus Christ. Edward Junior was trying to push through my zipper and I wasn't in the mood to fucking stop him.

I licked back down her neck and along the edge of her t-shirt, tasting the blood drenched cotton there, sucking it into my mouth and running my tongue underneath. "Your shirt's in the way," I told her. If I had ever done anything good in this world, surely I would be rewarded with getting to continue my exploration of Bella's body with my tongue. Stopping killers and rapists, saving the innocent…it had to count for fucking something right?

Bella took her hands out of my hair and I frowned at the loss of contact. She stepped away from me and I heard Edward Junior start to sob. Here it was, let me have a little taste and then yank it the fuck away from me just as it was getting good. I was seriously just going to leave her ass here and go back to New York. She had the forest to play and hunt in and her fucking cow to keep her company; clearly she had no fucking use for me.

The first thing I'd do when I got back to the city was hit a bar and take the hottest girl I could find and…damn it; I didn't want the hottest girl I could find. I wanted Bella but she was already rejecting me yet again and I couldn't fucking deal with it anymore. So I would find the hottest girl I could and I would just make myself fuck her and maybe that would finally drive this infuriating girl out of my mind. That was the plan.

I turned to go back to the house to get my car and get the hell out of this cowpatch. I took a step and then heard something ripping. I stopped. That sounded like…but it wasn't. It was just my imagination playing more fucking tricks on me. But I had to know, just for my own peace of mind. I could look at her one final time, maybe I'd even be the bigger fucking person and say goodbye. Then I'd know for sure that what I thought I heard was incorrect and I could move on with my life, which was way easier before she came along.

I turned, slowly, both wanting to see her face one final time and dreading it. I would always remember though and I'd be a stronger fucking vampire for having known unrequited love. My eyes were on the ground when I faced her and I slowly brought them up her body, memorizing each line and curve. It was astounding how beautiful she looked in a pair of jeans.

My gaze reached her stomach and I felt venom welling at the pale white skin and the sexy little belly button and…what the fuck? Her skin? But that meant I hadn't imagined it and…my eyes flew up her body then and sure as hell, she'd ripped her fucking shirt open. She had on a lacy purple bra and her shirt hung off her shoulders as she stood there with her hands on her hips, her eyes flashing with an as of yet unspoken challenge.

"Bella?" I choked out, not sure I could speak anymore over the venom that was welling back up in my mouth at the sight before me. I actually felt my fucking hands twitching at my side as I took a step toward her. She took a step in my direction as well and we were back to where we'd been before, just an inch apart this time.

"You aren't done," she told me, running her hands over décolletage, slowly. Jesus Christ she was fucking sensual as hell…where had she learned that shit? My innocent girl wasn't so fucking innocent any longer. My hands balled into fists as I watched her feather her fingers over her collar bones and to her breasts, tracing lines along that delicate lace.

"I'm not done what?" I knew what I hoped she'd say but I didn't dare believe for one second that…

"You haven't finished licking the blood off me. There's some here and here and here…" She pointed to some nearly invisible darkened specs on her chest, one of which disappeared beneath that wonderful purple bra.

"If I start, I'm not going to stop there, Bella." It was a warning, plain and simple. She had to know my intentions going in. We weren't going to do the same song and dance this time. I was through with fucking games on both our parts. She was toying with more than just my body now, even if she didn't completely know it. She may not know I loved her but she knew I cared and I was not going to have my heart fucking crushed by her tiny but powerful hands.

Her nostrils flared and her eyes flashed again. "Who says I want you to?" She ran her tongue over her own lips and gave crooked her pointer finger at me. Jesus, where the hell had all this been hiding and how could I keep her acting like this forever?

The words and invitation were all I needed; I growled and yanked her to me, then ran my fingers through her hair, staring into those challenging dark eyes. "Don't regret it." I didn't know if it was an order or a plea but I didn't want her to have any doubts when all was said and done. She didn't respond, she just reached up and pulled my lips down to hers. Okay then, enough with the fucking talking anyway. What was I, a fucking chick? _Well…_rhetorical, shut the fuck up now. There was no room for him when my lips were on hers and her partially naked body was pressed up against mine.

Edward Junior was begging for immediate entry but damned if I wasn't going to enjoy finally taking what I'd been waiting for since she'd awakened. I tore my lips from hers and moved down her jaw, nuzzling under her neck when she shifted her head to the right to give me more access. Fucking compliance…finally! Hell, not even compliance, active participation. Her slick little hands were on my chest now, squeezing my muscles through my shirt as I made my way down her body, to those little paths of blood I'd yet to get to. She'd asked me to lick her clean and I had every intention of honoring that request.

Bella let out a quiet moan as my tongue traced the outline of her bra, just as her fingers had done moments ago when she'd been luring me back to her like the voodoo priestess she was. The fucking power this woman had over me…it was insane and intoxicating and frustrating all at the same time. My tongue streaked below that purple lace and she moaned louder this time, her hands fisting on my shirt before she gave it a yank and the buttons flew off as the fabric tore from my body.

"So fucking hot," I muttered against her skin as I reached behind her and undid her bra. I thought about ripping it off her for a second but there was always a possibility we could run across someone on our way home and I'd be damned if anyone saw Bella naked but me. She was mine, all mine, and nobody would ever lay eyes on her glorious skin but me. I slid the bra and the tattered t-shirt off her arms and there they were, those fucking perfect breasts that I could happily spend the rest of my existence buried between.

I bent to continue my quest to remove every trace of blood from her body and ran my tongue from the top of her left breast down to her nipple, sucking it in my mouth and biting gently. I released it and moved my tongue under the gentle swell beneath and she hissed angrily and grabbed me back to her nipple. I chuckled and sucked it back into my mouth, running my hands down her bare back and cupping her ass as I flicked the nipple with my tongue, interspersing that with gentle bites that made her moan and pull my hair harder. My girl was a bit of a fucking freak and I loved it.

I tried to move my head, to attend to the other lovely breast but Bella held firm. I reluctantly released her incredible ass and grabbed her hands to forcibly remove them from my head. "Now, love, I promised to remove every drop of blood from your luscious body and in order to do that I need to move. I swear I'll give your nipple all the attention that it needs but isn't the rest of your body begging for me as well?" I knew mine was burning for her and from the whimpers and moans she was making, along with the instinctive movements of her body, I knew that she had to be feeling the same way I did.

She loosened her grip and I smiled my thanks against her chest as I licked a line from one breast to the other. "See, the right one needed some affection too." It pebbled immediately when I swirled my tongue over it and I sucked it in my mouth to give it the same attention I'd given the left, which I now squeezed between my thumb and pointer finger, rolling it gently as she writhed underneath my touch. She was so incredibly responsive, just as she'd been when I took her innocence on our bed in New York. Thank God that hadn't fucking changed in the time it had taken me to get her back into bed, er, well, the forest. What the fuck ever…I didn't give a damn where we were, just that she was with me and her body was mine to do with whatever I desired. And I desired so many fucking things it was insane. We had all the time in the world to make them happen, now that she was really and truly mine, but it was hard to slow down and savor when she was making those little noises that made me want to throw her on the ground and fuck her until tomorrow or the next day, or even the day after that. From the sounds of it, she would surely be amenable to that plan.

Still, I wanted to taste her, every inch of her that had been denied me, particularly that incredibly wet pussy that she was now rubbing against my leg like a fucking dog in heat. Jesus Christ. My hands started to shake as I dropped them to her waist to still her movements before I lost my fucking cool and came like a pimply faced freshman looking at his first dirty magazine.

I tore my lips from her breast and dropped to my knees as I licked my way along that concave little stomach, groaning when I got a taste of some of the bear's tangy flavor mixed with Bella's sweet one. There was nothing better in this fucking world than the way she tasted covered in blood. Well, okay, if it was human blood it would have been even better but beggars could not be choosers and I was a man starving. I'd take anything I could get with this woman, which yes, made me a pathetic motherfucker but I was a pathetic motherfucker that was about to get laid so I didn't give a fucking damn.

Her hands came to my shoulders for support as I licked my way down her stomach, dipping into her belly button and swirling my tongue around before drawing it back to continue down her abdomen, stopping when I got to the denim. I looked up at her as I released the button of her jeans and slowly brought down the zipper. Her hooded eyes were on mine as I pulled the jeans down over her hips and she shook them to help me as I dragged them down her legs, my eyes feasting on the pale skin as every inch of her body was revealed to me. She shifted her weight to her right foot as I tugged off the left pant leg and then did the same so I could release her right. My face was right where it belonged; level with that tiny scrap of lace that was the only barrier between my lips and her pussy.

I could truly smell her now and the amount of venom in my mouth made it impossible to do anything but swallow. I gulped it back down and willed myself to stay in control as I drank in the sight before me. Smooth, pale skin that positively glowed in the dim light that filtered between the leaves. A part of me cursed the lack of sun, wishing to see that skin in the light, but we had time for that as well. I'd take her in one of the wide open fields later, rolling around in the soft grass…fuck. I wanted everything with her.

Bella's hands tightened painfully on my shoulders as she stepped closer to me and pressed her pussy right up against my face. That fucking did it. I pressed my mouth to that lace and nuzzled her lips with my nose as she let out a loud moan. That was more fucking like it. I wanted her loud. I bit through that delicate purple fabric and yanked it away with my teeth. She gave a strangled scream as I released the panties and ran my tongue along her swollen pussy lips. She was wet and warm and inviting and I took a long lick up her slit, flattening my tongue against her clit and shaking my head from side to side as she bucked against me, finally fucking shouting my name as she came apart.

I gripped her ass tightly to help hold her upright as her hold on my shoulders loosened while she lost herself in the pleasure of my tongue moving over her. I didn't let her come down from her first orgasm…fuck that shit. I could make her come for hours if I wanted, if I had the fucking patience to do it. Not this first time, but maybe in a few days, after I'd been sated, if that was even fucking possible.

I was afraid she was going to fall so I drew her legs over my shoulders and stood, keeping my face pressed to her sweet pussy as I felt blindly behind me for the tree that we'd been standing near only a few minutes ago. Ahh, there it was. I pressed her against the tree and kept working her over, sucking her clit into my mouth and biting as she screamed and bucked beneath me, thrusting her hips against my face. I slid my tongue inside her and fucked her with it, feeling her pussy walls tighten around me again as she continued to come apart. This was better than I'd imagined it would be; the feel of her coming apart in my arms, the taste of her as she did…it was fucking everything I ever wanted and more.

I lapped at every inch of her delectable pussy, flicking her clit back and forth with my tongue. Bella flung her arms out blindly and the tree behind her cracked from the force of her striking it. I held tight, laughing against her as I managed just barely to keep us upright. I reluctantly pulled my face away from her and helped her slide down my body, groaning at the feel of that moist pussy as she made her way to the ground.

I pulled her up on her toes and kissed her roughly, sliding my tongue into her mouth and letting her taste herself on me. She didn't seem to mind as her tongue met mine and her hands gripped my back tightly; it felt like she was trying to burrow inside me, which was hot as hell. I could practically hear Edward Junior screaming in frustration as her hot little body rubbed up against him but I both did and didn't want to stop her. Part of me wanted to throw her down on that tree and fuck her right away while another part wanted to enjoy the feeling of her kissing me, rubbing her naked body up against me, making noises for me.

She broke our kiss and looked up at me through hooded lashes, breathing heavily which made her breasts thrust forward which made me itch to touch her so I did, palming both and running my thumbs over them again. Her hands fell to my waistband and she undid my button and pulled down my zipper, keeping her gaze locked on mine as she slid my jeans over my hips. I watched as she brought them down my legs, kneeling down right the fuck in front of Edward Junior who was twitching in anticipation. I wasn't wearing any boxers so he popped out, standing proudly erect. I stepped out of my jeans and kicked them aside as her gaze fell from mine and landed on my cock.

Holy fuck, she was right there, her mouth about three inches away and getting slowly closer as she leaned forward and her tongue darted out and wet her lips. So fucking hot. I was going to fucking come all over her without her doing a damn thing because there was nothing more sexy than a naked Bella moving toward my cock with a look of determination on her gorgeous face. I couldn't do that shit to her though, she was too good, too pure, for me to shoot a load all over her like that and I was going to if that tongue touched Edward Junior.

I reached down and took her arm and gently tugged her to her feet. Edward Junior started screaming profanities at me as Bella's little lip came out in a pout and it was cute as fuck. God I was such a fucking moron.

"But I want to make you feel good like you did me," Bella told me, her lip still out in that pretty pout. I couldn't fucking resist it so I sucked it into my mouth. She sighed and responded but her shoulders were rigid. Fuck, she thought I was rejecting her. Jesus, what a crazy, confounding girl she was. I pulled away and gave her my most reassuring smile, which under the circumstances probably looked like a grimace.

"I know baby and I swear to God you can do that later but if I don't get inside you soon I'm going to embarrass myself." She grinned and a look of relief flashed in those eyes that were still black with desire. For me. That was so fucking incredible I didn't even have the words for it. She stepped back into my arms and started kissing my chest, nibbling on my nipples just as I had hers and making me moan with need.

"Bella, fuck…" I felt my eyes crossing as she bit fairly hard and Edward Junior bobbed in reaction. I glanced around to see if there was any place to take her other than the ground but the boulder was all the way up the fucking hill and I wasn't about to take the time to get up there. Fuck, the ground it was. I tipped her head away from my chest and bought my lips to hers again as I lowered us both to the forest floor, leaves and grass crunching as I lay her down and stayed crouched over her.

She was stunning, her brown hair spread out in a halo around her beautiful face, her luminescent skin glowing in the half light, her streamlined body open and ready, waiting for me. Her glittering black eyes stayed focused on my face as I looked down at her. I lowered myself slowly, aligning our bodies, my lips seeking hers as her arms came around my back and her legs spread wider to accommodate me as I slid in between them. Edward Junior was after her pussy like a heat seeking missile and though I wanted to savor the moment I didn't have the strength to do so any longer.

I kept my gaze on hers as Edward Junior pressed against her pussy. She whimpered against my lips as I slid inside her, finally. Holy fuck, it felt good. She was still so tight and now, thanks to our unchanging bodies, she'd be this way for all time. I fought against the instinct to start fucking her hard and moved in and out of her slowly, letting her adjust to the feeling of my cock inside her again. It's not like she'd ever been fucked good and proper and I had every intention of introducing her to the concept in the very near future but right now I needed to show her that she was worshipped, because she was. She was my whole fucking world and nothing would be more right than be joined with her like this.

Her hands tightened on my back as she thrust her hips up to meet mine and I smiled against her lips at her eagerness and her desire to give in to her instincts and go faster. I sped up my movements to match hers and our bodies came together hard, our thighs causing a thunderous sound as they slapped together with our movements. We moved together for a long time, our eyes and lips locked as our bodies came together over and over.

When I couldn't stand it anymore, I reached between us and brought my finger against her clit, pinching it between my fingers as she gasped and bucked against me, tightening around me and coming as she said my name. The fucking sound of that, her saying my name as she came, along with her pussy walls clamping around me like a vice was enough to send me over the edge and I came with her, shooting loads of stored up venom inside her as I thrust as far into her as I could go. I swear I heard Edward Junior weeping tears of joy as I came down from the fucking high of finally being inside her after all this time.

She smiled up at me, her eyes still black as night as she reached up and traced the line of my jaw with her fingertips. I kissed her gently and wrapped my arms around her, more than content to stay joined with her for the next few days, making love and then holding one another until we felt like going again. I could go another week without eating. She couldn't but maybe another fucking bear would wander by and she could attack it and then me. I was more than amenable to that idea.

I flipped us over so that I was the one on the ground while she was spread out on top of me and she broke our kiss and crossed her arms on my chest and rested her head on her hands, still just watching me. She looked gorgeous even with sticks and leaves in her hair. I wondered what the fuck could possibly be going on in that silent mind of hers and after a few minutes of her staring had enough and finally fucking asked. "What?"

She bit her lip but didn't look away from me as she lifted one hand and started tracing lazy circles over my chest. "It's just…back after I first woke up?" She looked at me nervously and I nodded to encourage her to fucking keep going. I hated when she pulled that shit, saying next to nothing instead of just spitting out whatever ridiculous thing she was thinking.

"You told me…" she paused again and looked unsure.

"Jesus Christ, what Bella? I've told you a lot of fucking things since all we've done is fucking talk since you woke up until, blessedly, today. What in particular are you talking about?" Okay, so that wasn't the most tactful way to ask but I was inside her and way more interested in playing some more instead of talking things to death. Typical Bella, though, couldn't ever do anything the right fucking way.

She pushed herself up and glared down at me and damned if that wasn't hot as fucking hell. Edward Junior was still alive and kicking down there and he perked up with interest at the sight of her above me, her perky breasts within biting distance. Bella growled and he jerked in reaction, because it just got hotter and hotter every second she was above me getting pissed off. I was such a fucking masochist but she was gorgeous when she was mad. Since I was good at making her that way, it was a damn good fucking thing that I found her hot as hell when she was.

She crossed her arms which made her perky tits look even perkier and I propped myself up on my elbows so that I could reach them when I dared. Now was probably not the time since her eyes were spitting fire at me, but that didn't mean I wanted to diffuse the situation any. "Well? Are you going to tell me or would you like me to regurgitate every word I've ever said since we met?"

Bella growled again and Edward Junior did a dance of delight as her slick pussy clenched against him. "No, Edward, I don't need you to spout our every conversation. I have perfect recall too now, remember?" Of course I did, I'd made her that way but I wasn't about to point it out as she got sort of sensitive over that particular fact now and then and I didn't really want her to snap my dick in half out of irritation. Anger was hot, murderous rage was not, at least not when directed at me.

"Well then, by all means, enlighten to me as to which of many pearls of wisdom I've shared with you are important in this moment." I chuckled at the look of outrage that moved over her face as she hissed in irritation. Fuck, she was the most exquisite creature that ever existed.

She gritted her teeth and continued to glare at me as she spat the words at me. "You told me that you could fuck me for hours, for days even."

Well, that was certainly fucking true and a very interesting statement for her to make when my cock was still inside her and more than ready to go again. "Yes, I do recall saying something like that."

She stopped glaring and licked her lips and moved her hips against me, which caused me to let out a groan and grip her waist. "Is it true?"

Oh, hell yes. "Yes, it is."

She smiled then, that look of challenge back on her face. "Prove it." Again, how could you not fucking love a girl like that? Spitting mad and she still wants me to fuck her for days on end? She was incredible.

I smiled and lifted her hips a little before drawing them back to me as she let out a little whimper at the feeling of my cock moving inside her. "It will be my pleasure. And yours." Edward Junior and I were both up to the challenge. "Game on, Bella Swan." Again.

* * *

**A/N Was it good for you? I hope so! And...can we maybe remove my Cockblocker title now? Please? :) I will say, this is actually a bit earlier than I planned on the block coming off but it felt right to me to do it now so I went with it and next chapter looks promising for more...provided you all enjoyed it that is.**

**I posted the first of the FGB Outtakes under my profile under Bite of Darkness: Taste of Innocence Outtakes. Want to see into Bella's head the night they met? Now you can! I have started the Jenks outtake so that should post fairly soon as well, keep your eyes out for it. It'll definitely be out sometime between this chapter and next.**

**Beloved reader and friend Twisted Coincidence made a mix for this story that I forgot to pimp last chapter so I am doing it now. You can find it over at www(dot)mixpod(dot)com(slash)playlist(slash)59900911 I think she captured Smugs very well.**

**Voting for The Vampies is still going on for the next week and this story is up for 4 awards, you can find the link in my profile if you want to check out the nominees.**

**I think that's enough babbling from me. Smugs has some things to say and I told him this week he could answer my reviews if he wanted, so if you'd like to hear from him, hit that button and he'll send you answers and responses. I'll probably weigh in too :) Thanks for all the reads, recs and reviews, you're all awesome!**


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N Wow ladies! Unblock the cock and a flood of reviews come in! LOVED IT! Seeing as it's still firmly unblocked in this chapter (hehe I said firmly, yes I am 12) I'd love to see if we could replicate the response to last chapter. Made my day, and Smugs, who absolutely adored answering reviews along with me. Would you like to hear from him again? Let us both know. More below, for now, enjoy!**

Taste of Innocence Chapter 16

I had seen and done a lot in my century plus of living but seeing Bella, sitting atop my cock and looking down at me, challenging me to live up to my promise to fuck her for days had to be the greatest experience of my life hands down. I gripped her hips and lifted her nearly off Edward Junior before pulling her back down. She moaned loudly as I slammed back inside her. "Like this?" I asked, lifting her and bringing her back down again.

She smirked at me, her black eyes glittering as she moved her hips on her own now. I watched with rapt attention as her breasts bounced up and down with her movements. Fuck, she was astonishingly beautiful. "Actually, I seem to be doing all the work here. I thought you were the one who was supposed to be fucking me?"

I let out an involuntary laugh…as fucking usual, Bella managed to astound me. It didn't matter how many centuries I had, I would never figure this woman out. I was beginning to be comfortable with that fact which was slightly disturbing. Still, if she insisted. I sat up abruptly so that Bella was straddling my lap, her perfect breasts pressed against my chest and her pussy enveloping a very happy Edward Junior. I swear I heard him singing Marvin Fucking Gaye. _Let's Get It On_ indeed.

Bella licked her lips and I leaned forward to capture them with mine, sucking on her bottom lip and nipping at it as her hands found my hair again, tugging not-so-gently. She bounced a little in my lap and I felt my eyes roll back in my head at the friction as Edward Junior slid deeper inside her. Fuck. I lay Bella back against the ground, staying inside her, so she was lying flat while I was sitting up. I tightened my grip on her hips and pushed her away from me and then pulled her back.

Bella gasped in surprise as I filled her again and then began steady movement, drawing her hips to mine and back. "You know, baby, you don't have to take that whole me fucking you thing so literally. It's a lot more fun when both of us participate." Not that I wasn't having fun now, watching her bite her lip as I increased my speed inside her, her chest heaving, her breasts bouncing, her pussy clenching me. God bless whatever quirk of fate made vampire bodies unchanging…she'd always be this tight no matter how many times we fucked. That was enough to make me want to weep in gratitude.

She giggled and began to move her hips toward me again, somehow, despite her inexperience; she was in perfect tune with me. If that wasn't fucking proof that we were made for each other, what was? Now all she needed to do was tell me she loved me, then I could say it back and we could live happily ever after and all that bullshit fairy tale stuff that I didn't believe existed until she came into my life.

Bella bent her legs on either side of me, giving herself some leverage as she thrust her hips in my direction. I used her sudden participation to my advantage, letting my fingers slide from her hips to her clit, where I rubbed circles. Bella moaned and thrust her pussy toward me so I increased the pressure on her clit as I started fucking her harder. She came apart around me, her body thrashing wildly as she screamed my name. It was incredibly fortunate that we didn't have any neighbors nearby, they'd either be calling the police to report some kind of abuse or trying to sneak into the woods to see exactly what was causing Bella to make such a racket. For such an infuriatingly quiet woman, she was quite loud when it counted and I fucking loved it.

I could have come along with her, but the whole point of this was to prove that I could fuck her for days so I decided to hold off for now. Edward Junior was pretty fucking pissed about that to be sure but he was surrounded by a lovely wet pussy so he couldn't complain overly much. It could be far fucking worse, like the last week and a half had been. He had nothing to bitch about.

After Bella came down from her ear-splittingly loud orgasm, I pulled her back into my arms, staying inside her as I lifted us off the ground. Her head fell forward on my shoulder as she gasped for breath and clung to me as I climbed up the hill and placed her on that boulder where only a few hours ago I'd sat and watched and hungered for her. Now she was mine, all mine. I couldn't really wrap my fucking head around it but this was hardly something I needed to over think. The love shit was another thing entirely and didn't need to intrude on this moment. I began moving inside her again as Bella moaned and rested her head on the rock, letting her hair spill across the boulder, a waterfall of brown on the boring gray.

_You are such a dumbass. Love would make this moment even better, you fuckwad. If she knew how you felt, she could give herself to you even more, in ways you can't begin to imagine. _I can imagine a lot of ways, fucker, believe me. There's nothing I haven't seen or done. _If I could kick you in the ass, I'd do it right now; stop being deliberately obtuse. I'm talking about emotional connection, beyond the physical. You fucking felt it the first time you slept with her and the last. She feels it too, you just need to discuss it and then you'll truly be on the same page. _How the fuck do you know she feels it too? Are you inside her head too? Because if you are and you've been hiding that shit from me, I swear to fucking God I will find a way to rip you out of my head, make you into a physical being, and murder you slowly, more painfully than you can even imagine.

_Please. _Could the bastard sound anymore fucking scornful with one word? I hated him and thrust into Bella harder in reaction to my rising ire. How fucked up is that? How dare you come into my head and ruin what is going to be the greatest time of my life? You, of all…whatever the fuck you are, know just what this means to me. Why do you have to fuck it all up by trying to bring this feelings shit into it? Do me a favor and go see a Broadway musical or something, that sounds way more up your alley than what I'm doing with Bella is.

_Are you calling me gay? Because I'm you and that really might explain…_Don't you even fucking try to go there. You know damn well that I'm not gay, you sarcastic prick. I am, as we speak, fucking a perfect woman, the woman I love. So how the fuck could I be gay? And why the fuck am I talking to you when I am indeed fucking Bella after all this time? Why are you even here?

_I'm here because you need me. _I most certainly do not. As you can see, I've got this. I punctuated my thought my rolling my hips, hitting Bella's g-spot with Edward Junior and making her moan loudly as she came yet again. I kept my pace up, loving the way she sounded, looked and felt as she came around me, wanting to drive her to do so again and again. Having her balanced on the boulder, just above me, gave me the perfect angle I needed to hit the right spot with every thrust.

_So you can make her come, repeatedly. Congratulations. I would hope you would have learned that fucking trick over the past hundred years of fucking countless women. Any guy could do that with the practice you've had. _Are you calling me a fucking whore? _They don't have the word for what you are. _Unbelievable, you are calling me a whore. Look, maybe I've banged a lot of women, but so what? That was then, this is now, this is different, so why do you have to get all up in my head and fuck around with me when I should be enjoying this moment?

_Stop your bitching, I let you have the first bang, once you told me to go away, didn't I? Don't I deserve a little appreciation for that fact? If you expect me to be silent while you have sex with Bella for three days, you don't know me very well. And I think you should have a pretty good feel for who I am by now. _Who you are is a giant pain in my ass that is taking my focus away from what it should be on, which is the beautiful, naked girl surrounding me. What kind of inner voice doesn't let a guy enjoy his moment of perfection?

_Oh please, you're still enjoying it, jackass. We both know you can concentrate on many things at once. You're not even losing your rhythm at all, in fact, every time you get pissed at me you fuck her just a little harder and she seems to like it, judging by all those porn sounds she's making. Who the hell knew that was hiding inside her? _

So you don't know what she's thinking anymore than I do then? You're not inside her head as well? Then what fucking good are you to me at this moment anyway? Why don't you come back when she's pissed at me for changing her or when she goes into one of those silent spells that drive me insane? At least you could be mildly entertaining then. Well, that's a stretch, you'll never be entertaining. But you'd give me something to do while I waited for her to open up to me.

_You are so fucking stupid, it really shocks me that you've managed to live this long. Truly, it's a good thing you became a vampire because you probably would have died a real death not long after you were changed anyway. You're too dumb to live. _I growled and Bella's eyes narrowed and she hissed at me. Damn that was fucking hot. I thrust harder, our hips crashing together like thunder. Darkness had fallen at some point but I could still see her clear as day, her pale skin having its own glow. She was luminous, always.

I am not dumb, you asshole. I run a billion dollar company. _Twist of fate, moron. Your mind reading serves you well and you make sure to hire and fire the right fucking people. Bilking the rich isn't very hard when you know exactly what they're thinking. Sorry, but that fails to impress me. Besides, that isn't what I'm talking about. Anybody could be wealthy given all the time in the world to acquire it. Or inherit it, as was your case. _

I thrust harder again as Bella moaned underneath me. I hated to be fucking reminded of where my money came from, even though I'd managed to take that old bastard's tiny fortune and make it a huge one. _Yes, Edward, you did rise above your grandfather. Congratulations. You beat a dead man. Want a prize? _My prize is in my fucking arms right now, go away and let me enjoy it.

_I'm not done saying what I need to say. _Well get on with it because right now you've said a whole lot of nothing, other than insulting me, which is absolutely nothing new and certainly not useful.

_You're hopeless. Truly. What I was trying to say before I was so rudely interrupted, was that she would open up to you if you opened up to her. How do you expect her to give you her emotions when you won't do the same? _I have done it! I was the one that told her I cared about her. I was the one that gave up my life and moved to New Jersey so she could try her hand at living off animals. I was…

_Gave up your life? Excuse me? What do you think that she did? _Holy crap. Thank God I hadn't said that shit out loud. Bella would have my ass for that one. Alright, I know she gave up her life, albeit not voluntarily. But, don't you see? I changed for her voluntarily. She changed because she had to, yes, I admit that sucks. But don't I get points for opening myself up to new experiences for her? That alone should count for something.

_Yes, Edward, here's a blue fucking ribbon for you for making changes to accommodate the woman that you are in love with. You're the only male in the history of the fucking world to do such a thing in the name of love. They ought to carve your face into Mt. Rushmore, for all the fucking sacrifices you've made for your lady. _Well that was a little over the top, don't you think? I thought I was a sarcastic bastard but you take the cake. I must get that shit from you.

_What about what she's given up? Her father, her mother, her friends, her school, just being around people…you think none of them matters to her? Yet somehow she's still managed to let you in, enough to trust you with her body. _Which I am incredibly fucking thankful for. What's your point?

_Don't you want her to trust you with her heart? You haven't earned that yet, Cullen, and you won't unless you put yours on the line first. If you think a girl as guarded as she is will let you in without you doing it first, you're even dumber than I've ever given you credit for. Don't worry, I'll leave you to your "fucking". Enjoy it. Don't come bitching to me when you realize that it isn't enough._

Not enough? This was everything; seeing the look of dazed pleasure on her face, watching that streamlined body move with each thrust, hearing the passion explode from her lips as she came yet again. Douchetard didn't know what he was talking about, as fucking usual. But he was gone now and I could truly enjoy being with my girl, and it was about time because one day was behind us and there was plenty more I wanted to do before I took a break. Inner voice could go fuck himself, since he clearly wasn't getting any. Maybe that was his problem. It explained a lot.

I groaned at the sight of Bella giving herself over to pleasure once again. That was something I would never tire of no matter how long we lived. There was just a beauty about watching her surrender to the pleasure that only I could bring her, her head thrown back, her hands gripping the rock so tightly I feared it would split, her back arched…it was the only thing I ever needed to see in this lifetime, as far as I was concerned.

I pulled out of her, Edward Junior shrieking in protest because I still hadn't let him come, but Bella was the priority here and it had been far too long since I'd tasted her. I didn't know how it was possible for her to taste even better than she did as a human but she did. It was like that floral bouquet she'd reminded me of became a wild meadow of scents and flavors. She was mouthwatering, or venoming as the case may be.

Bella lifted her head off the boulder and looked down at me as I crouched before her and took a long slow lick of her pussy. Her fingers dug into the rock and I grinned against her as a little bit of dust appeared as she pushed into it. I pulled back and watched her for a moment as she hissed and pushed her pussy up toward my face. "You know, you taste incredible." She stilled her movements and bit her lip, looking almost shy. Why she felt that way now, after what we'd been doing for countless hours, was beyond me but that was Bella for you. I could fuck her all over the forest but if I commented on her flavor she turned all virginal again. I loved that about her.

"I could eat you for hours." She gasped and her eyes somehow managed to turn even darker. Fuck, that was hot. "Do you want me to?" She nodded quickly and I chuckled at her eagerness. Still, I needed more than that. "Tell me, Bella. Tell me what you want me to do to you."

She bit her lip and looked away from me, staring at God knew what, while I sat two inches away from heaven. I could wait her out, damn it. So what if venom was pooling in my mouth just from being in the vicinity of her beautiful pussy? I had willpower. Sort of.

"Eat me," she squeaked, so softly that I could barely hear it. It was an adorable attempt at getting the words out but hardly the sexy visual I had in my head of her telling me the words. Where was the girl that had told me to lick her just awhile ago? Bella was a mass of contradictions, designed to drive me wild.

I slid my hands up her thighs and she moaned as my fingers traced her outer lips. "That didn't sound very convincing baby. I'm going to need to hear it again, with a little more force behind the words."

She let out a low growl that had Edward Junior screaming with frustration. I knew his pain, for sure, but beyond the obvious awesomeness that was sex with Bella, this was also a learning experience for both of us. I wanted Bella to discover that sensual side of herself, at my hands, and learn what she liked and how to ask, hell, demand it. Nothing would be hotter than to have her tell me what she wanted, I knew that from the few times she had. All she needed to do was find the confidence that I knew was lurking inside of her and she'd drive me to my knees, well, even more than she already had. I actually wanted her to own me, body and soul. This was a completely new thing for me and I didn't know how to react to it.

Bella leaned forward, perched precariously on the side of the rock. I tightened my grip on her thighs as she placed her hands on the side of my head and pulled me toward her face. Her black eyes bore into mine as she growled more loudly this time. A whimper escaped my lips and she smiled slowly, her pretty pink lips calling to me. I tried to lean forward but Bella held me in place as her tongue darted out to moisten them. Fuck I wanted her again. It was never going to be enough, was it?

"I said," she whispered softly. Her voice was no louder than it had been before but her tone was completely different. "I said…eat me." Fuck, I was right. Nothing hotter. The confidence in her tone, the challenging look in her eye, the demand on her lips…if she wasn't so high up on the rock I'd drop to my knees and worship her. As it was, I'd have to just crouch and do it. I didn't mind in the least.

She released her hold on my head and gave me a not-so-gentle nudge in the direction of her pussy. I wondered briefly if she heard it calling for me the way that I heard Edward Junior calling for her. Well, now was not the time for such thoughts. Bella placed her hands on the rock again and I had to smile at the sight of her. I placed a kiss on each of her inner thighs. "Since you asked so nicely," I chuckled, "I am going to, you know. I'm going to eat you for hours." She moaned and I swear she got wetter from just my words. Fuck, I loved that. "I'm going to taste you until the sun comes up again." She gasped and got even wetter. I ran a finger up and down her slit as she pushed her pussy toward me. "By the time I'm done, this rock will be nothing but dust." Her moan echoed off the trees this time. I wondered if I could make her come just from talking to her alone. That'd be a fun experiment for another day. I'd wasted enough time on words though.

I pulled her pussy toward my face and dived right in, flicking her clit with my tongue moving as fast as it could. She started screaming and coming right away and I smiled in satisfaction. "Hope you can take that for hours baby. Nonstop." I immediately started again, while she was still riding out her orgasm. She gasped and her fingers dug into the rock and I vaguely heard some crumbling sounds. Oh yeah, my promise would come true.

All night long I licked, sucked and nibbled, alternating speeds, sometimes taking my time and moving so slowly she would beg me for more, other times moving so quickly that her orgasms were just continuous. If you asked me how many times she came, I couldn't begin to count it. I knew Bella couldn't either. She was virtually incoherent, babbling nonsensical sounds between shouts of my name or the word "God" or even the occasional "fuck" or two; which always made me lick her harder because I adored it when Bella cussed. I slid my tongue inside her time and again, fucking her with that instead of Edward Junior, who was none too pleased with the situation, but for once I didn't give a damn what he thought. I was too lost in the taste of her to care about his tantrum over not getting to fuck her. Like he wouldn't get that chance again soon enough? Emo bastard.

And the rock….well the rock didn't even begin to manage to the last the night. After about two hours, Bella had ground it down to about half its original size and after one particularly hard orgasm, she'd cracked it when she threw her head back and it broke into pieces. I'd managed to hold Bella up before we both fell with it. I kept right on licking as I laid her down beside the rubble and that's where we'd stayed for the entirety of the night.

Sunshine started to filter through the trees and I slowed down my licking, sucking her clit into my mouth one more time and biting it as she came again. I kissed her pussy lips gently and then slid up her body to claim her mouth. The only complaint I could ever have about licking her for hours was that I was deprived from her beautiful lips. She raised shaky arms and put them around me as her tongue met mine passionately.

Edward Junior, sick and tired of being ignored for a good twelve hours, slid toward her pussy like a fat kid running after the ice cream man. I wondered briefly if you could die from too many orgasms…I mean, Bella and I couldn't but could a human? I should have tested that theory before I met her. Now I'd never know because I belonged to her.

Bella's thighs clenched together right before Edward Junior could slide home and I heard him cursing me out vehemently. I didn't care overly much though because Bella's tongue was moving with mine and her hands were tracing lazy circles over my back. She broke the kiss and began moving her lips down my jaw, which felt incredible. "Are you worn out already, baby? It's only been a day. I have at least two more to prove myself to you." I wanted those two days fucking badly…and every day after that for that matter.

She giggled and shook her head, her lips tracing my neck now. What did that mean? She was or was not done? Damn confounding woman. She rolled us over so that she was on top of me and she smiled, her hair tickling my chest. "I'm not done with you yet. I'm just taking a little break." I could deal with that. I leaned forward to kiss her but she pulled away and started kissing my neck again. I buried my hands in her beautiful hair and just enjoyed the sensation of her exploring my body. This was a new experience and I was truly fucking enjoying it. She mimicked my movements from earlier like the good little student that she was; sucking and licking on each collar bone, trailing her lips down my chest, sucking on one nipple while playing with the other, biting gently. Fuck. I felt my eyes rolling back in my head and Edward Junior was screaming for entry, getting particularly excited the closer she got to him as she made her way down my body.

Her surprisingly talented little tongue flicked and sucked its way down my chest. I watched with wonder as she ran her tongue over my stomach, tracing my abs slowly, her hands sliding over my thighs. My own hands found purchase in the ground. I wanted to touch her, to guide her, but I didn't want to ruin the moment of having her explore my body of her own free will. She was heading to a very interesting place and I was dying to see if she was going to take me into her mouth. She'd been about to earlier but she was brand new to all this and I knew some girls were intimidated by the process, particularly when confronted with a cock the size of Edward Junior. He was a bit daunting even to a blow job veteran. I could hardly expect Bella to suck me off this early into our sexual relationship. Maybe in time she'd work up to it, maybe…

She sucked my hip bone and I thrust toward her in reaction. Fuck she was beautiful, her eyes tracing over my body like it was the only thing she'd ever need to look at again. Could she possibly feel that way? Just like I did? That could be enough, for both of us. Neither one of us needed the words if the feelings were there, right?

She watched me closely as her hands moved over my thighs and she gripped Edward Junior in both of them. Holy fuck! Bella moved her right hand slowly up and down my shaft while the left cupped my balls. Where the fuck had she learned that? Her movements weren't remotely tentative like that of a novice should be. Maybe turning into a vampire amped up the sexual talents along with everything else. I'd been with several vampire women and they were all good in bed, maybe it was just another perk to being us? I surely wasn't about to complain.

Bella kissed from one hip to the other while her hands worked me over. She stilled the movement of her hands and placed a kiss right on the tip of my cock. Edward Junior jerked at the feel of those gorgeous lips touching him and I moaned nearly as loudly as she had when I'd been licking her. Those black eyes held mine as she opened her mouth and took the head of my cock in her mouth. I resisted, just barely, coming immediately at both the sight of her doing that which I'd fantasized about pretty much from the moment I laid eyes on her and the feeling of her mouth wrapped around me. My imagination was very, very good but I'd been nowhere close to how it would really feel when she did it.

She released the head and I whimpered at the loss but she quickly made up for it by licking the underside of my shaft before she brought the head back into her mouth again, taking more in this time. Her other hand was at the bottom of my cock, moving slowly up and down, mimicking the movements she was making with her mouth as she took me in and out. Amazingly, she even ran her tongue over the tip a few times before bringing me back into her mouth. She was fucking incredible, a true cock sucking savant. How the hell did I get so lucky?

She increased her movement and I found myself thrusting my hips up to meet her each time she took me into her mouth a little further. She cupped my balls again and began squeezing and rubbing them as she sped up her motion. Fuck, I was not going to last long at all this first time, but there would be others. There had to be because I didn't think I could live without it now that I knew how good she was at it.

She hollowed her cheeks and sucked harder and I dug my fingers into the earth as I tried to hold back. Edward Junior wasn't having it though and he disobeyed my wishes, filling her mouth with my venom. Bella's eyes remained on me as she swallowed, which was just another hot thing in the litany of hot things that made up this woman. Of course, I knew our venom tasted better than human come but still, it was her first time and she'd been perfection beyond belief.

She released me and climbed back up my body, curling into me. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her softly. "Baby, that was incredible. Better than I ever imagined. How did you know how to do that?" I had visions of her and Alice and Rose sitting around their dorm room watching porn and learning how to give blow jobs on bananas or something. Fuck, that was an awesome image. I imagined her friends had taught her quite a bit and the rest was really just some wonderful instinct that Bella had, combined with superior vampire skills. She clearly could do anything at all and my mind boggled with the possibilities. We absolutely had to do 69; I wanted to taste her while she gave me a blow job…fuck just that image had Edward Junior standing at attention again.

Bella burrowed into my neck and placed a kiss on my shoulder. "Oh, I've done that before." Well, that made sense then. Nobody was that good their first time…wait, what?

"What?" My voice was rough and my hands were digging into the ground again, this time with anger instead of passion. Someone else, some human nothing had had her lips wrapped around his cock? That was just unacceptable. She was _mine._

Bella bit her lip and tried to turn away from me but I let go of the ground and stilled her. "Baby, talk to me." I kept my voice calm even though I wanted to go rampaging through the trees and find and kill the motherfucker that had been touched by her. And touched her, probably. Fuck…had he eaten her out too?

She wouldn't look at me and buried her face back in my neck. Fuck, shut out again. I should be used to this shit by now but I hated it even more than the thought of some fucker having her lips around his cock. Alright…no, I didn't hate anything more than but it was close.

"It was that guy, the one I told you about." Told me about? That was a fucking joke. She hadn't told me shit other than that some guy had hurt her. Whenever I asked for more she blew me off, just like apparently she'd done to him. Fuck, that enraged me. I needed to know who he was so I could kill him. Then I would be the only guy alive, so to speak, that she'd ever tasted.

"The one who hurt you."

"Yes."

"Are you going to tell me anymore about what he did?" She sighed and ran her hand down my chest and began stroking Edward Junior again. Ahh she was a bright girl, I had to give her that. Still, I wasn't about to be distracted. "Bella?"

She kissed my neck again and nodded. "Yes, but can it wait? I mean, do we really have to discuss it right now?" She had a point; there were better things to do, but the knowledge that there had been someone else that had gotten to feel her lips around him made me see red. Not to mention that I had to wonder what else she'd done with him. I didn't think I'd be able to get it out of my mind unless I asked.

"Okay but I do need to know one thing." She lifted her head and eyed me warily but nodded for me to continue. "Did he go down on you too?" She shook her head quickly and turned to kiss my shoulder. I tilted her head back toward me and kissed her. "Good." The selfish bastard hadn't reciprocated the gift she'd given him. Even though I was grateful for that fact, it still pissed me off. He would die for that as well. Painfully. As soon as I had a name. I could afford to be patient and wait for it though.

Bella continued to run her hand over Edward Junior for a few minutes and I trailed my hand over her hip and started running small circles over her clit. She draped her leg across mine, giving me easier access, as we both stroked each other patiently. Our tongues met gently, to match our movements. This was…new. Different. I liked it.

She broke our kiss and climbed atop me, smiling down at me as she took Edward Junior inside her. "So you don't mind doing all the work this time?" I asked hopefully as I gripped her waist.

She shook her head and began to move her hips. "This feels good, like you can get deeper inside me this way."

I chuckled and helped her guide her hips to meet mine. "Wait until I take you from behind."

Her mouth dropped open and then she bit her lip. "You don't mean like…in my behind do you?" I started laughing so hard I nearly bucked her off me, but I kept a hold of her hips. God, the things that mind came up with. Not that I hadn't done that of course, but I didn't picture myself doing that with Bella.

She glared at me as I struggled to contain my laughter so I shook my head to let her know that was not what I meant at all. She crossed her arms over her breasts and waited me out. I sat up and pressed a kiss to her lips once I'd calmed and she responded, albeit a bit grudgingly. "No baby, that isn't what I meant. We could do that one day, maybe, if you wanted to, but no, I was talking about bending you over the couch or a bed and fucking you that way. It's incredibly hot."

Her eyes darkened and she pushed me down and began to move again, her breasts bouncing up and down along with her body. "I want that," she told me and fuck, that was hot. I started thrusting my hips up to meet her again as I thought of the many places I could bend her over and fuck her. The car, the kitchen counter, that old wooden fence where her stupid cow was, the window seat in the bedroom…we had a lot of places to explore and all the time in the world to do it.

"I can show you right now if you want." Though I was enjoying this view quite a bit and was loathe to give it up.

She smiled and shook her head, continuing to ride me faster. "No, we'll save that for a little later. We still have a whole two days to go, don't we?"

Fuck, she was incredible. I laughed and cupped her ass as I guided her motion. "We have a whole lifetime to go, Bella." She smiled and nodded and my heart filled with happiness. She was mine and she would be forever.

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**A/N 2: Hmm...did you like it? I hope so...and he still has two days to go! No, the next chapter will not be all sex but I'll include some, I imagine :) Smugs wouldn't have it any other way.**

**I posted the second FGB outtake, Jenks POV of chapter 12, under Bite of Darkness under my profile. I am going to be writing the third one, which is alluded to in this chapter, Bella's past, this week and should post it next week. It will also appear under Bite and that's the only place it will truly be addressed, so you may want to be on the lookout. I know many of you are curious.**

**I closed poll voting and it seems Chapter 13 and Bella's past were winners, along with the Preacher's daughter and another chapter in BPOV tied for third. I may very well write those eventually, so if you do want her viewpoint from another chapter, let me know which ones you're interested in. I may run a poll again later for that but I'd like to know where people are leaning now if you guys could tell me :)**

**I posted a one/shot collab that I also did for Fandom Gives Back last week and was blown away by the response. Possessiveward and Teasella. It's under my profile as Bad Girlfriend. Would love for you to check it out.  
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**Someone nominated this story for A Glove Award for best overall, which is amazing and I thank you very much for that. I have amazing readers and I don't know if I say it enough but I truly adore you all. Thank you, so much!**


	18. Chapter 17

**A/N Some fun stuff below but I had to thank Twisted Coincidence & Hongkongphooey for their recs last week. My email went nuts with alerts and faves for this story and I'm beyond flattered that they would rec me in their stories. If you're not reading Paper CutOuts & Fill My Little World, you should be. Thanks girls and anyone else who's rec'd me. If you have, let me know!**

Taste of Innocence Chapter 17

"Go bend over that tree we knocked down baby."

"Which one?" she asked with a wicked grin, tossing back her hair. She was so fucking hot and I laughed because it was true. We'd knocked down five fucking trees since this marathon sex session. I wondered idly if I should contact the _Guinness Book of World Records_. Surely it was a record…though those pervy fuckers would probably want a demonstration and nobody was allowed to see Bella naked but me so that was out. Still, I'd love to see our names together in the record books. Edward and Bella Cullen…oh holy fuck. Cue the laughter in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

_I don't even need to fucking laugh you useless bastard. It's just too easy this time. It almost feels like a hollow victory. _That was just some sort of weird Freudian slip. I don't want to be married. I don't even fucking believe in marriage.

_So you claim, but there you have it, right in your very own thick head. _That was probably you, slipping your shit in and getting me all confused. I, Edward Cullen, am never getting married. Period. _Mmm hmm and you were never going to fall in love, and you were never going to try animal blood, and you were never going to find someone that you wanted to be around for all of eternity…funny how one girl has made you change your mind on all of those things, so what's what one more?_

I don't need to change. I never fucking needed to change. I am perfect as is. _It's a shame you can't see me as well as hear me, because I have an epic fucking eye roll going on right now. _Oh seriously, shut the fuck up. You've been blessedly quiet during the past two days, why the hell did you have to come back now?

_You're the one who had the thought that brought me back, douchebag. You're supposed to be fucking your woman, who I believe is bent over a tree right now like some sort of offering to a perverted God and instead you're thinking about her bearing your last name. _First of all, stop looking at Bella naked. She's mine. Second of all, it's kind of hot to think of her having my last name. It's like everyone would know she belonged to me then.

_Of course you would think of marriage as a way to mark your woman. But I suppose it works for you, so long as you don't phrase it quite that way when you ask her. You love her and you want to marry her. _I do not want to marry her. She can take my last name without me marrying her. We're vampires, we can be anyone we want to fucking be. _So, maybe she can change her name to Rain Starlight or something then. You're such a jackass. _That sounds like a fucking stripper's name. No way is my Bella going to have such a ridiculous name.

_So tell her you love her and ask her to be your wife. _I don't want a wife. _But you want her, forever. _Yes, of course I fucking do. _Then what's the damn difference? You're committed either fucking way and I bet she'd feel a lot better about the two of you if you gave her your love and then asked her to take your name. _

"Edward?" Jesus Christ, do you see what you made me do? My woman is waiting for my cock and you're lecturing me on shit like marriage. Marriage has no place in fucking, certainly not in fucking my girl from behind. _You don't think married people fuck? _Married people have boring missionary sex once a week if they're lucky. _You're so fucking ignorant I don't even know what to say to you right now._

Good, then go the fuck away and let me tend to my woman's needs. You can come back at another time when Bella's luscious ass is not right before me, at the perfect fucking height for me to just walk right up and grab those milky white thighs and slide Edward Junior…_Alright, Jesus Christ, just go do it, I don't need a fucking play by play. We're not done though._

I mentally congratulated myself on getting rid of the prick…hell if thinking about fucking Bella was all I needed to do to drive him away then that would be the easy as hell. Why hadn't I thought of that before? I leaped over one of our other tree victims and landed right behind Bella, admiring the way her skin glowed in the light. This tree, the huge oak that we'd knocked over a few hours ago when I'd been fucking her hard against its trunk, had a large span and knocking it down had let a little light into our dark corner of forest. I finally got to see Bella in the sunlight and she was even more gorgeous than before.

I'd always hated that our skin fucking glowed like some Disney fairy princess but it didn't look ridiculous on Bella. She was stunning; it was like her inner radiance glowed out of her or some shit like that. And now I fucking sound like a Disney fairy myself. Great. See what you do to me, motherfucker? You turn me into some romantic that thinks about marriage and fucking inner radiance? I could not hate anything more than I hate you, just so you fucking know that.

I placed my hands on Bella's inner thighs and pushed them apart as she mewled and moved wantonly against the tree. Jesus, who knew she had it in her? Over the past three days I'd seen a sexual awakening the likes of which even I hadn't allowed myself to fantasize. She was sensual and sexual and insatiable. I seriously thought she'd want to call it quits after a day but she meant it when she asked for me to fuck her days on end. I certainly wasn't about to complain about that shit, but it sure surprised me. She'd demanded the tongue treatment, as she liked to call it, every night too. I was more than happy to oblige. The _Guinness Book_ also could place us under the Most Orgasms in a 72 hour period as well; we had that shit by a mile.

Edward Junior started to fucking whimper like the emo motherfucker he was so I silenced him by sliding slowly inside her. Fuck, she felt incredible. Every time was just like the first time, minus the inexperience. Life was really fucking good right about now and love and marriage didn't have to come into play. That would just ruin shit, right? Wives got demanding and shrewish and stopped putting out. Why the hell would I want that?

Bella moaned and thrust her hips back at me. I gripped them and started pounding into her, lifting her slightly so I'd have the perfect angle to hit her g-spot and send her flying yet again. I could find that elusive motherfucker if I was blind and deaf and dumb at this point. Bella started screaming and coming almost instantly and her fingers dug into the tree with a loud grinding noise. I grinned and kept thrusting into her, sliding one finger around to play with her clit. She pushed her body up off the tree, holding herself at a ninety degree angle while I slid even deeper inside her with the new leverage. Jesus, that was fucking hot.

I rolled her clit between my pointer finger and thumb before squeezing it gently, causing her to scream and come again. Edward Junior was tired of being deprived and he came along with her, shooting my venom inside her as she clamped around him like a vice. Damn, it just got better and better. I slid out of Bella and lowered her back to the ground. She turned and walked into my arms, resting her head on my shoulder. Who the fuck knew that holding a girl after sex could be so good? Usually that was when I booked out of there but I liked being with Bella like this.

"So, that was three days of sex, huh?"

"No, that was three days of Monopoly, baby. What do you think?" She smacked me with her left hand but kept her body pressed flush with mine. "Was it what you thought it would be?" Holy fuck, what kind of retarded question was that? I was turning into such a fucking girl around her. As if it wasn't the most fantastic experience of her life.

She giggled and burrowed into my chest while she nodded her head up and down. Then she pulled back and smiled up at me and I swear to fucking God my heart soared. _Here comes the bride_, _all dressed in white…_Shut the ever living fuck up! "I can't say I really knew what it would be but," she broke off, biting her lip. Oh Christ, what? I couldn't breathe until I heard her answer. "It was fun!" Fun? I give her marathon sex and she dubs it fun? What the fuck?

"Fun? Baby, couldn't you do better than that? How about mind blowing? Earth-shattering? Life-altering? You saw God?" She was laughing hysterically now, her hands gripping my shoulders to hold herself up. Well that wasn't remotely fucking insulting. Jesus.

I pushed back from her and let her have her laughing fit, trying not to notice the way her breasts jiggled with her mirth. She wasn't deserving of round 43 or whatever it was at this point. I walked over to our long ago discarded clothes and tugged my jeans on. Bella had gone silent behind me but I didn't turn to see if I could set her off again.

Arms wound around my waist and I felt her press up against me from behind. Her fingers trailed up my bare chest and I shuddered at her touch. I would never fucking tire of the feeling of her hands on me, even if she'd just insulted the hell out of me. I felt her lips touch each of my shoulder blades and grunted in pleasure. Sure, butter me up now, Bella. Sorry, no more cock for you, at least not for the next few minutes anyway. Edward Junior cursed at me but I didn't give a fuck. Fun my ass.

"I meant fun in a mind blowing, earth-shattering, life-altering sort of way. I don't know if I saw God but I do know I went blind several times." She punctuated each word with a kiss along my upper back and shoulders. Edward Junior was doing yet another dance in my pants and I was slightly mollified so I turned and wrapped my arms around her too.

She reached up and brushed my hair back out of my eyes while she smiled at me. "Fun wasn't meant to be an insult, you know. It was just different from what I imagined." Well what the fuck did that mean? Did I not live up to expectations?

"How so?"

She bit her lip again and shrugged. "I don't know how to explain it exactly. It's just I guess I thought sex was the guy on top, girl on the bottom, move a few times, get off, and you're done situation. It's not like that with you. We were in positions I didn't know existed and it always felt good and just…fun. You know what I mean?"

I grinned down at her, since I got it now. "Baby, I have plenty more positions to show you. I'll be happy to be your sex-ed teacher." She snorted and smacked me, the sound of her hand hitting my chest echoing through the remaining trees.

"I'm sure you have plenty to show me. How many women have you had sex with anyway?" Oh, holy fuck. Answer that and the cockblock will be back on with a vengeance.

I shrugged. "I've been alive along time. Plus, I didn't really learn everything by doing. Mind reader, you know." I tapped the side of my head and smiled at her. "You wouldn't believe the things I've plucked out of people's heads." That was true, therefore, I hadn't fucking lied.

Bella tilted her head and studied me. "I see you don't want to answer the question, which means that I probably don't want to know the answer. Oh well, I guess I'm benefitting from your experience now." She didn't sound nearly as happy and amused as she had a minute ago. She turned to look at the tree I'd just fucked her on and I knew I'd fucked up royally. Damn it, time for some damage control Cullen.

I touched her right shoulder and turned her to face me again. She could have resisted me if she wanted but my Bella wasn't about to avoid a conflict. I loved that about her. "I've fucked a lot of women," she blanched a little at my words but didn't turn away again which I was fucking thankful for. "But not one of them can hold a candle to you, Bella." Fuck, should I even fucking say it? "You're the only one I wanted to keep around, the only one I can't get my fucking fill of. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

She looked up at me for a minute before a beautiful smile broke over her face. Thank fucking Christ, disaster averted. And maybe she figured out that I was fucking in love with her. "I'm special?" she asked.

I resisted rolling my eyes. Then again, maybe not. Why was it that a girl who was perceptive enough to see through the majority of my bullshit couldn't see the fact that I was insanely in love with her? She was so fucking exasperating. "Yes, you're very special and you mean more to me than anyone ever has before." Get it? Got it? Do I need to write the word love in the sky?

She positively beamed and threw her arms back around me. "I feel the same way about you, Edward." Then you love me…so fucking tell me! Why must you be so damn difficult woman?

It didn't seem like she was going to do that, though, she just kept hugging me and nuzzling into my chest, which was actually pretty fucking nice even if it wasn't what I was looking for. I held her for a few minutes before pulling back and studying her perfect, naked form. "Are you doing alright, baby? It's been a few days since you've eaten and you must have worked up an appetite by now." I sure as fuck was thirsty so I knew she had to be, as young as she was.

Bella nodded. "Actually, yeah, I could eat. I guess we'd better hunt before we go home, huh?" How much did I fucking love that she called it home? Yes, I am a full-fledged pussy at this point. I accept it. Moving on.

"You'd better hunt." She frowned at my words but didn't say anything. Just because I'd licked one bear's blood off her body didn't mean I was conforming to her ridiculous diet plan. Some compromises could not be made, that was number one. Did she honestly think I was that fucking easy? Give me a little credit. "I'll come with you though," I told her and she watched me a moment before the smile broke out on her face again.

I bent down to pick up her discarded jeans, panties and bra. The shirt was a total loss, as was mine since she'd shredded it in her impatience to fuck me. God, that was fucking hot. I held her clothes out to her and she glanced at them a moment before shrugging and turning on her heel. What the fuck? The next thing I knew she was running through the trees, naked as the day she was born, fucking glorious as all hell. It was a damn good thing we were alone in the forest or I'd have to blind and/or kill whoever got to look upon her. Not that they could have seen her, streaking through the trees like a bolt of lightning. Thank God for that. She was a sight to behold though.

I clutched her clothes and took off after her, not wanting to miss the sight of Bella on the hunt. She was beyond incredible and she was mine. My eyes traced every inch of her body as she cut through trees and bushes; her muscles were bunched and clenched and all sorts of fucking hot. Edward Junior sprang to life again and started battling with my zipper for exit. You can fucking wait, buddy. There will be plenty of time to take her after she eats.

Bella paused for a second and lifted her cute nose in the air and sniffed. I came up next to her and she gave me a brief nod of acknowledgment before she cut to the right and took off like a whirlwind again. White skin, flowing brown hair, sexy strong limbs…Jesus. If I wasn't already dead she'd surely be the death of me and I'd utter nary a peep of complaint either. What a fucking way to go.

She went north a few hundred yards and then cut back towards the stream where we'd seen the little deer family a few days ago. I hoped like hell it wasn't the same fucking family again, I didn't need her to get all emo after I'd fucked the crazy out of her the past few days. I had, hadn't I? _You're too stupid for words. _Fuck you, I wasn't asking you. It was another rhetorical question. _Don't ask shit if you don't want the answers. Bella has changed a little, she's got some self confidence now and she knows you care about her but she's still the same girl she always was. Unpredictable, crazy, smart, funny, wild as hell…exactly what a moron like you needed in his life._

I didn't feel the need to respond to him, because he was at least right about that last part. I needed Bella like I needed blood. She was a necessity now and I would not live without her. It was just a fact of my existence. I followed Bella as she vaulted over limbs and sped across the forest floor without hesitation. It was fucking intoxicating watching her on the hunt. I'd do it every single day if she'd let me.

Bella paused behind a large tree and I closed the distance and came up next to her. Sure enough, further down the riverbank than the first deer family, was a group of four fully grown deer, three males and a female. I wrinkled my nose as their scent hit me; they didn't hold a hundredth of the appeal that the bear had. Still, beggars couldn't be choosers and I had no idea how many fucking bears were wandering the forests of New Jersey. Perhaps I should have Jenks purchase some and fly them in…surely there was a black market for animals. There was for every other damn thing, why not that?

She stood stock still next to me, her eyes focused on the deer drinking from the stream, black again, this time from regular hunger instead of hunger for me. It was still fucking hot though. Maybe I should order her some black contact lenses…they probably made them; they made every other damn color it seemed. Of course if I was going to get her black ones, I may as well get her brown. I wondered if they made her exact color, the deep chocolate color that had mesmerized me when she'd been human. I wouldn't want any other color on her, really. Bella wouldn't look right with blue or green; she was made for brown, red or black. All three suited her in very different ways. Brown was her innocence, her humanity and her goodness; black was her darkness, her hunger, her desire and red was her personality, vibrant, volatile and beautiful. Somehow my Bella managed to retain all those traits, even if her eyes weren't brown anymore.

I couldn't resist running a hand over her shoulder, that delicate curve that led to her incredibly tasty neck. Her eyes flickered to mine but she quickly focused back on her prey, a mere fifty yards away. Her muscles bunched and I moved my hand away from her, not wanting her to take it off in irritation if I blocked her from her meal. She took off silently, a deadly assassin focused solely on the kill. The deer heard her a second too late, their heads rising from the stream, their golden eyes dilating, fear coming off them in waves as she descended upon them. One of the males and the female managed to dart away but Bella took down the other two males with a resounding crash and a splash as all three hit the water.

It was fascinating, seeing my naked Bella, an arm wrapped around each struggling deer, dragging them out of the water as she looked around in confusion, likely trying to figure out how she could eat both of them while they kicked and bucked and made some hideously disturbing braying sound. It was nothing like the scream of a human as they faced their death. I didn't like it. The sound, the smell of human fear; there was nothing comparable to it.

Bella dragged them up the bank and shot me a glare as I laughed at her predicament. I walked over to her leisurely, not in any hurry to tear my eyes from the sight of Bella's wet, naked form. Fuck. It was the first time I'd seen her all wet; well, wet from water that is, and it was a lovely sight to behold. I wanted to lick the droplets off her body, wind that wet hair around my hand as I thrust inside her and made her scream. Edward Junior was in complete agreement, trying again to break free from my zipper. Horny bastard…but I couldn't blame him. She was extremely edible right now, unlike the deer she was holding onto as she huffed in frustration.

"Problem, baby?"

Her coal black eyes snapped at me. "It's about time you got down here. What am I supposed to do?"

I raised an eyebrow at the irritation in her voice even as the perverse side of me rejoiced in how fucking sexy she was when she was pissed at me, even though I hadn't done shit to make her that way, as fucking usual. Yes, she was clearly the same old Bella. "And I would know what you should do, why?"

"Because you've been killing for a lot longer than I have. Haven't you ever killed more than one person at a time?" She was so irritated, it was fucking adorable.

I grinned at her and she huffed in response. "I thought you didn't want to hear about my hunting? Shall I regale you with some stories? There was a time that I took out this gang of bikers that was going to…"

"Damn it, Edward, would you fucking help me?"

God, I loved it when Bella said fuck. "Fine." I set down her clothes and reached out and grabbed the deer that was under her left arm and dragged it over to me, its hooves digging into the grass as it tried in vain to get away. "What you should do, love, is just break their necks right away. Then you can eat as many as you need to and take your time about it. That's what I did with the bikers, well, most of them. A few got some special treatment."

She made a sound of disgust and then sank her teeth into the buck's neck. It tried to rear but Bella's arms were tight bands around its midsection and she held tightly as the life left the animal quickly, its body falling onto the dirt. Bella moved her grip up to the antlers and angled the neck perfectly so she could get the perfect flow of blood to her lips. The blood smelled disgusting but it was still hot as fuck to watch Bella's perfect lips sucking the red liquid into her mouth, her tongue and throat moving with each swallow, reminding me of how she'd looked as she sucked my cock and took all of my venom. Edward Junior started yelling about letting him at her, as if I could at this moment with some three hundred pound animal struggling in my grip, making that irritating sound, its eyes rolling in fear.

"Sorry, Bambi, my girl's gotta eat. I tried to tell her that there are better options out there but she's stubborn as fuck. Women, what are you going to do?" His eyes rolled again and I was sure he was in accord with me on that statement. Women, no matter what animal, were insane. It was just a fact of life.

Bella dropped the lifeless deer carcass with a grunt and stood and walked over to me. "Still hungry, baby?" She shrugged and I wondered what the fuck that was supposed to mean. Should I let the fucking thing go? He was probably going to have a fucking heart attack in a minute anyway; I could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

She reached out and took hold of him but when I started to let go she put her hands over mine and stilled me. "What, Bella? You don't need help to hold him; you just took down that other one with no problem."

"Drink with me." What? Was she fucking insane? I didn't want to taste that blood. It had no appeal whatsoever. A mouthful of dirt, what fucking fun.

"Bella, you know I have no interest in…"

"Drink with me," she growled and fucking Edward Junior started screaming at me to drink with her because if he didn't get inside of her within the next five minutes he was going to die. Overdramatic motherfucker, that's what he was.

"Bella, seriously, I'm going to hunt later tonight." I had to go into the city anyway so I'd kill two birds with one stone and get some dinner while I was out.

She let go of the deer and I stupidly held on to the fucking thing while she stood on her tiptoes and pinned me with her angry gaze. "Yes, yes, you can go eat a fucking person later. Right here, right now, I want you to share this deer with me. Show me you're willing to try, just this once, and you won't hear another peep out of me about the lives that you destroy when you kill a human," she hissed. Holy fuck, I was hard as a rock at the look in her eye and the demanding tone she was using. Plus, I could save myself a century of bitching, if she was telling the truth, by giving in this once.

I held her gaze as I bent my head and placed my mouth next to the deer's throat. It continued to struggle fruitlessly in my arms but there was no way it could get away from me unless I let it go. She walked around to the other side of the deer and positioned herself on the other side of his neck, her face incredibly close to mine. She gave me another silent nod and together we bit into the neck. I fought back the urge to gag at the taste as the warm liquid entered my mouth. It was exactly as unappetizing as it smelled. It tasted like dirt and grass and leaves and nature; none of which were my favorite things in the world.

But, my favorite thing, person, whatever, in the world was watching me, her eyes focused on my face as she sucked the life out of the animal between us and I couldn't disappoint her so I drank. I fought down the mouthful and I took in even more of the foul liquid, eating quickly, not savoring the taste like I did a human. After a few swallows I was used to the dirty taste and it wasn't quite as disgusting as it had been initially. Still not good, but it didn't make me want to choke it back up right away like I thought I'd have to do at first. And well, being this close to Bella, drinking with her like I'd always wanted to…it was worth the foul taste because all I could think about was throwing the deer out of my way and taking her like I'd always dreamed. Maybe it wasn't an alley, maybe it wasn't a human, but it was still incredible to take a life with her.

Her eyes remained on mine as we drained the unfortunate animal. I started pulling less into my mouth, wanting her to have the majority of the blood, knowing that I'd have the real stuff within the next day or so. That was something to look forward to. God I wished she'd go with me and just try a human…she'd see that there was nothing like it and that even the bear paled in comparison to the wonderful flavor of a person's blood.

I took one last pull and removed my lips from the creature's fur. Bella did the same on her side and by some unspoken agreement we both let the deer drop at the same time and then somehow we were in one another's arms, our lips crashing together, our tongues meeting and sucking the blood off one another. This was exactly as it should always be, from now until the end of time, Bella and I, feeding as one and then attacking one another with much more passion than we had our prey.

She reached between us and shoved her hands down my jeans, gripping Edward Junior, making him scream with joy and me hiss with pleasure. I sought desperately to thrust in her hand but there wasn't really room to move. I guess Bella felt the same way because before I even knew what was happening, there was a ripping noise and my jeans were gone.

I let out a gasp and laugh against her lips as I pulled her to me and lifted her off the ground. Her legs wrapped around my waist, her thigh muscles gripping my hips tightly as I shoved my cock inside her and made us both groan. I stumbled a few feet away from our kills and sat down on the muddy ground, staying inside her as I dropped down, unwilling to part from her for even a minute. The hunger in her eyes, the way her lips moved over mine…this was fucking everything right here. As it should be. _Tell her, you jackass. Just tell her already!_

Fuck, maybe I should. It felt like she loved me back. She acted like she did. The way she moved with me, as I gripped her ass and pulled her onto my cock; it was like we were made for each other. Surely I wasn't the only one feeling it. Bella was perceptive and shit, she knew we were right together. But then, she should fucking tell me that instead of make me be the one to do it. She could make our lives a billion times easier if she'd just say it.

_Your life, you mean, you fucking coward. _I am not a fucking coward. I'm just cautious. _Since when? Name one time in your entire life, human or vampire, in which you were cautious. I dare you. _I grunted as I met Bella's thrusts with my own. Fuck, I couldn't think of anything. Surely there was some damn time…_No, there isn't. Asshole. You have never, ever stopped to think before you acted, or else Bella wouldn't be here like this today. _Well, that fucking proves that I did the right thing, because she belongs here with me, douchewad.

_Which proves my fucking point, because you didn't stop to think; you acted, just like you should with this whole love business. You've been in enough heads to know that every girl in the world likes to hear those words from the guy they love. I know you're a fucking idiot but surely you've absorbed that information sometime within the past century. Even you cannot be that damn clueless._

First of all, I'm a little sick of your fucking attitude. Secondly, I'm more than a little sick of your fucking timing. Why must you always appear when I'm actually enjoying time with my girl? Thirdly, of course I know that girls want to hear it, but guess what, numbnuts? Guys want to hear it too. That's right, dick, there is no fucking rule that says that the man has to say it first. Why the fuck should I get all the pressure of those words? Huh? Can you tell me that?

_Because she's young, naïve and been hurt before, you prick. You can't expect her to be willing to open herself up to you without you putting yourself out there first. And you know this, because I have told you it a billion times, you're just too damn pigheaded to listen. _I listen; you just come along at the worst fucking possible time. After meal sex is supposed to be the best sex there is and you're ruining it for me.

_It will be the best when you tell her you love her and she says it back. If you believe nothing else I've said, even though I've been right each and every fucking time I've spoken to you, believe that. I'm going now. Enjoy your fucking, knowing that three little words hanging over you could change things in ways you can't begin to imagine._

Was it really that big a deal? Would saying I love you make that big a difference between the two of us? _If you don't think it will, then you shouldn't be afraid to say it. _I'm not afraid. _Prove it. _Fuck, fine, I will if you'll go the fuck away. _I'm gone._

Fucking prick, taking my concentration away from the beautiful girl in my arms; who was riding me like cowgirl on a bucking bronco. She was hot as fuck. I slid my hands up her backside and around to cup her breasts. Bella moaned as I moved my thumbs in circles over her nipples and started riding me faster. I thrust up to meet her as she started to clench around me, her head thrown back, her eyes closed and her perfect mouth making the sounds I'd only imagined hearing from her days ago.

I came with her, shooting my venom deep inside her as I sucked and nibbled on her graceful neck. Her arms wound around my neck as she tilted hers to give me better access. I stayed inside her, kissing her softly as we both came down from the hot sex. Her hands wound in my hair and I pulled back and looking into her stunning, satisfied face. She smiled lazily at me, her eyes glowing with some emotion I couldn't quite identify. Happiness? Satisfaction? Dare I fucking hope it was love?

Shit, did I look at her like that? If I did, then surely she knew how I felt, so what was the harm in saying it? She hadn't run yet and I'd done plenty of shit that could have made her shut me out forever. What was I fucking afraid of? Emo douche was right, this time; there was no harm in telling her how I felt.

"Bella?" Damn it, why did I have to sound like a fucking chick when I said her name? Man up, Cullen.

She smiled, her now red eyes lighting up with it. Fuck she was beautiful. There would never be anyone equal to her in the entire world. "Yes, Edward?"

"I…" I broke off; trying to force those two little words past my lips was like trying to get out of quicksand. I felt like I was sinking…hell I was already fucking sunk, I had been since the moment I met her.

_I heard something down by the water. It sounds big. Daddy's going to eat well tonight. _Fuck. It couldn't be.

"What, Edward?" Damn it all to hell, the timing wasn't right. It never fucking was. I slid out of Bella and lifted us both to our feet.

"I hear a human coming." Not the words I wanted to say but they were more important at the moment. I had to get her out of here before the clueless dolt got within her range of scent. Bella went completely still and I grabbed her arms and shook her lightly. "Baby, just remember what you did on the way out here. Take a deep breath and hold it. We're going to run home, okay?"

She took a giant breath and nodded. I grabbed her clothes that I'd discarded during her hunt and my tattered jeans, taking her hand in mine. "Let's go home." We took off together, headed toward our home. I'd tell her, when the time was right; I would tell her I loved her.

* * *

**A/N Go ahead, call me a loveblocker now, I know you want to :) I can take it...at least I'm giving you sexing finally. You can't have it all...yet!**

**I've had a few of you suggest hilariously awesome names for the third character in this little story; aka the inner voice. And you're all right, he's such a character at this point that he should have a name. So, dear readers, give your best suggestions for a name for the inner voice via PM or review or on twitter. We'll compile a list and vote and give our boy an identity. The suggestions I've already gotten are Clyde, Bob and Emmett. What do you think he should be called?**

**There's also been some call for a new interview with Smugs/inner voice/or both, which I'm quite willing to do if you send me questions to ask them. I need to know what you want to know.**

**I posted the outtake of Bella's past under Bite of Darkness but will also be uploading it here in a couple of days. It's too important not to be part of the story, even though it's written within a nebulous time instead of in order like the rest of this story. Still, I think you guys do want to know what caused our Bella to be so cut off from men and I will post it here as well. If you get the alert later in the week, that's what it is. Not new to some of you but probably to most. **

**Okay, that's it for now, see you soon :)**


	19. Bella's Past Outtake Chapter

**A/N As highly requested, here's a look at Bella's past. This conversation occurs sort of in a vacuum, sometime after they get home from the woods. I didn't want to set it as a smaller part of a chapter, I wanted it to stand alone, plus it was one of the outtakes voted on by you guys so it is phrased an outtake but very much part of their story, so I'm putting it here as well. It was published under Bite of Darkness: Taste Outtakes earlier but I wanted it here as well. Next chapter will pick up shortly after this one, so we do have a small interrupted amount of time in which Smugs and Bella were watching vampire shows and screwing like rabbits ;) Hope you like.  
**

Taste Outtake, Bella's Past

EPOV

It's time. I don't care if she's ready or not, it's fucking time. She's sidestepped this over and over again but I can't live without knowing anymore. I have to know what the fuck I'm competing with; what fucking ghost is hanging over her head and keeping her from being truly mine. I'll go mad if I don't find out.

Look at her, sitting there, staring out the window, her mind God knows where. Is she thinking about him? Is she remembering what it felt like when he touched her? Does she compare us? Not that any insignificant human could ever hope to compare to me, but when you've only had one other experience, surely it enters your mind at some point, right? She doesn't think I'm like him, does she? I would never hurt her. She has to fucking know that.

"Bella?" She turned her head just slightly and sent me a half smile. Fuck, she was beautiful. I swore when I looked at her I could actually feel my heart start beating again. I was so fucking ridiculous. She was dressed simply in a blue t-shirt and jeans and I was acting like she was dressed to go to the fucking Oscars. The thought of Bella in one of those tight fitting gowns was enough to make Edward Junior wake up. Fuck, now was not the time.

I walked over to the window and ran my hand through her hair. She leaned into my touch and I felt like cheering in victory at that reaction. A couple of days ago, she would have smacked my hand away and accused me of trying to get her into bed; which admittedly I would have been. This time, though, I wasn't interested in sex. Well, not much anyway.

I slid into the window seat next to her and kept stroking her hair as she leaned her head on my left shoulder. Hmm, now that I was here, how the hell did I go about this? I couldn't just demand that she tell me about the guy who broke her heart. I had to be smooth. Fuck…I could be smooth. That was my middle fucking name.

"What are you looking at?"

She hummed and shrugged. Great, that was fucking helpful. Why the fuck couldn't I read her mind? The one person in the world I actually fucking wanted to hear and she was silent as a church mouse. Fucking ridiculous.

"Nothing, really. Just looking at the trees, thinking." Excellent, I could work with this.

"What, about?" I continued stroking her hair gently. She sighed and snuggled into my shoulder. This would be easier than I thought.

"Home. Washington, that is. It's so green there, trees are everywhere you look. I really like it here, because it reminds me of home." Her voice as impossibly sad and I felt guilty yet again. I'd managed to live a century without ever feeling bad about anything I'd done and yet I felt lifetimes worth of guilt over my decision to change her. Not that I regretted it. I'd do it again; I'd just do it differently if I could. Give her time to say goodbye, let her fall in love with me first…I was too fucking impulsive but once I found her I just couldn't let her go. She belonged with me.

She'd given me a bit of an opening and I was going to take it. "What else do you miss about home?"

"My dad." The answer was instantaneous and I reminded myself yet again that I needed to find a way for her to get her dad a message. Jenks would come up with something, or else.

"What about your friends from school?" See, I was fucking smooth as hell. That was a good segue.

She shrugged again. "Not really. There were a few girls I spent time with but we weren't that close. Once I came to New York, we lost touch. Usually on holidays I just spend time with my dad." Yes, Bella, I get it, you miss your father. I'll do something about that soon, I promise. But for now, we have more important things to discuss. _Asshole. _Fuck off. I'm busy and I do not need your input on this one, motherfucker. I have to know.

"What about boys?" Her body tensed and she started to lift her head from my shoulder but I held her there and continued to stroke her hair soothingly. Come on, Bella, talk to me.

"No." Her voice was rough and final. Well, too fucking bad. If we didn't discuss it, she couldn't get beyond it. And neither could I. _That's fucking bullshit. She can get beyond it; she probably already has seeing as she let you fuck her countless times now. You're the one with the fucking hang up. _ So what if I fucking am? Don't I have the right to know what makes her hold back from me? _I've told you what does, you jackass. You need to tell her how you feel and she'll let you in. _Fuck off, I must know.

_Do you even realize how ridiculous you are? You've fucked countless women and you can't get over the fact that she's given another guy a blow job? What would you have done if she wasn't a virgin? _I don't know…it doesn't really matter since she was. Go the fuck away. I need to talk to her. _Fine, dig your own grave, moron. _One day I'll dig yours, I swear to fucking God.

"Baby…will you tell me, please?" She heaved a sigh and shook her head, burrowing into my chest as if she could hide away from me. A part of me wanted to drop it right then and there. I should fucking drop it and get over it. She was with me now. But he hurt her and he should be punished for that. I couldn't let it go, I just couldn't.

"Bella, you can't hold on to it forever. Whatever he did…I'll fix it, I swear."

She jerked her head up at that and leveled me with a heated glare. "Fix it? How in the hell do you think you can fix something that happened years ago? You can do a lot of things, Edward, but you can't go back in time and stop the teasing, the name calling, the utter humiliation I felt!" She was yelling and Edward Junior was being his usual inappropriate self, getting hard as hell and trying to escape my jeans to rub up against her. Horny fucking bastard. I couldn't blame him though; Bella was hot as hell when she got angry.

Still, her words penetrated my brain. Teasing, name calling…what did that motherfucker do to her? I stroked her cheek and she let me but she didn't stop glaring either. I swallowed the venom that welled up at the sight of her snapping eyes and tried to sooth her. "No, I can't go back in time. All I can do is try to help you forget. I don't ever want to hurt you like he did, but how can I know if I will if you don't tell me what happened?"

She laughed scornfully and my heart broke just a little bit at that sound coming from her beautiful lips. Bella should never sound so broken and bitter. He would pay, I swear to fucking God he would. But I couldn't tell her that, she'd just get all worked up about killing people again. Why couldn't she be normal, just for one fucking day?

"I can assure you it won't happen again. For one thing, you're not in high school and you don't have any friends to go and show pictures to."

Oh, fuck no. She did not say what I thought she said. Surely my Bella hadn't allowed some asshole to take pictures of her and show them to his friends. This was absolutely unacceptable. "What pictures? Jesus Christ, Bella, just tell me what happened!" I snarled and she blanched. The anger died out of her face and she looked completely shattered. _See what you did, prick? _Yes, I see. Go the fuck away.

I folded her back into my arms and she pressed her face into my neck, her shoulder shaking with silent sobs. For once the dick in my head was right; I had definitely fucked up by pushing this. It was my problem and I wasn't going to make her talk about it anymore. I could get over it on my own, probably.

"I'm sorry baby. I really thought it would be a good idea for you to talk it out. I'm a selfish asshole and I won't say another word about it." She sobbed for another minute or so before she pulled back and shook her head.

"You really want to know?"

Um, hadn't I made that pretty damn clear? "Yes, but not if it makes you unhappy."

She sighed and turned to look out the window again. I played with the ends of her hair and for once made myself wait quietly while she engaged in whatever internal debate she was having with herself.

"Okay, I'll tell you but you need to promise something first." Of course there were fucking conditions. Nothing could be simple with this girl.

"What do you want me to promise?"

She turned away from the window and looked right into my eyes, her lovely red ones boring into mine. "That you won't kill him when you hear what he did." Well, fuck. How dare she make me promise the one thing that I'd been dying to do since the first time I heard about him? Why couldn't she do the right damn thing just once?

I stared into those eyes and found myself saying the words I did not remotely want to say. "I promise I won't kill him." And I couldn't fucking lie to her, so he was going to get to live, no matter what heinous act he'd pulled that had hurt my woman. Alright…so he could live. That didn't mean I couldn't do something else. There were many ways to hurt a man, after all.

I was reasonably comforted by that idea so I was able to give Bella an encouraging smile when she continued to watch me. "Baby, I couldn't leave you even if I wanted to go kill him. He's still in Washington, isn't he?" It would be rather convenient if she'd followed him to New York, but that would be irritating as well so him being on the other side of the country was enough of an obstacle to assure that I didn't break my word, not right away anyway.

"Yes." She glanced back out the window. "He's at U-Dub along with a lot of my classmates." Good, I knew where to find him. Now I just needed a name. One little name and one story and I could go about avenging my woman.

"So what did he do to you?" I still did not believe the picture thing. Maybe she'd misspoken. Maybe I'd misheard. No way did Bella actually pose for anything…still, if he had anything that showed her body, anything that compromised her, he wouldn't have it after today. I would be damn sure of that.

She sighed and turned away from me. I fucking hated that and reached out to turn her but she stopped me with her words. "I can't look at you while I tell it. Please?"

That was probably for the best. I might not be able to hide my anger if it was as bad as I feared it was. Still I reached out and stroked her jaw. "Okay, why don't you turn sideways and face away from me? I'll rub your shoulders while you tell me." She was tense as hell and could use the massage anyway. Bella nodded and shifted between my legs facing the wall. I started rubbing the tight knots in her shoulders and finally, blessedly, she started to talk.

"I moved to Forks midway through my junior year, I think I told you that?" I gritted my teeth at the memory of her telling me that the night we met. Her selfish fucking mother, making Bella feel like she needed to pick up and leave her entire life so she could spend time with her new husband. I hated that woman.

"Yes, you told me." My voice was a little rough from my anger and Bella glanced over her shoulder at me. I smiled reassuringly and nodded for her to continue.

"Well I've always been shy." I nearly snorted. That was a fucking understatement and yet untrue at the same time. She was shy the first few moments we met but now she was anything but, unless I was telling her I wanted to eat her. She was such a mix of things…she constantly kept me guessing. "And it was hard for me being the new girl in such a small school. I got a lot of attention at first but when people found out I wasn't that interesting, I really faded into the background. I was happier that way though."

I clenched my teeth in irritation. My Bella should never be in the background. She was a shining example of all that was right in the world and people should have fucking appreciated her when they had the chance. "I made a few friends and I was pretty content. I loved getting to know my father better. I was fairly happy, or a good facsimile of it." I could make her happy…so happy she'd never have to wonder if she really was, like she was doing now.

I pressed my thumbs into her shoulder blades. "So what happened to change everything?"

She sighed and let her head fall forward, so I started rubbing her neck. She gave a soft whimper and I pressed a kiss to the back of her neck. She scooted back into me and Edward Junior rejoiced as her perfect ass was pressed up against him. Down boy, now is not the fucking time.

"Senior year. I was…well I was one of the smart kids. A nerd I guess. Happier buried in books than going to parties on the weekends. You know what I mean?" Of course my Bella was smart; she was too smart for those backwoods kids. It was no wonder they didn't appreciate her.

"After first quarter, my AP English teacher asked me about tutoring. One of the star basketball players was having trouble with his grades and several of his teachers wanted to get him help. They all thought of me and I agreed to it." Here it fucking was…some douche she'd been helping had taken advantage of her. The urge to crush him was overwhelming but I tried to temper it as I kept rubbing Bella's neck and shoulders. Keeping my hands on her should keep me calm. I hoped.

"So I agreed and we set it up so he'd come to my place after school. Dad worked odd hours so I was often alone anyway and I figured why not. Mike was…well, he was one of those All-American boys that never looked twice at me, or so I thought anyway. Blond hair, blue eyes…most of the girl's in school had a crush on him. He dated the prettiest girl in school on and off all four years I guess. They were off again when I started tutoring him." Mike…so I finally had a name. Her town and her school were rather tiny, she'd said, so a first name was all I needed. I smiled as I pressed another kiss to her shoulder. Mike was mine now.

"I'd never spoken to him before and there he was in my house, smiling and flirting and making me feel special…noticed I guess?" Her voice was very quiet now and I ran my hand down her arms and linked her fingers with mine to give her silent comfort. Her head rested against my shoulder and I could see that her eyes were closed as she told her story.

"You are special, Bella. And I noticed you right away." Her eyes opened briefly and met mine before she looked away again.

"You just wanted my blood."

How she could fucking dismiss herself like that was mystifying. It pissed me right the hell off. "Bella, I told you before and I'll tell you a million times if I have to, I wanted you. YOU. Not your blood. If I wanted that, I would have just killed you out on the street. I wouldn't have taken you home, played the piano for you, listened to you, kissed you, made love to you…changed you for God's sakes. I've never done that before. You know that. Please, baby, if you believe nothing else, believe that. To me, you are the most special woman in the world."

She smiled up at me and leaned her head toward mine. Catching her drift, I pressed my lips to hers and kissed her for several long minutes. She pulled away and faced forward again, but her thumbs traced circles on my hands where I held them.

"He flirted a lot and eventually he did little things, like touch my cheek, hold my hand, press his leg against mine…you know, the things guys do when they're interested?" I fought the urge to grip her hands tighter and kissed the top of her head. "One day he told me how he really liked me and he kissed me. After that, well, we didn't study overly much when he came over." My teeth ground together at that image, even though it was ridiculous to have wanted her never to have touched another male. I knew that, but it didn't stop me from hating it.

"He told me he wanted me to be his girlfriend and I was ecstatic. I thought I could go to his games and cheer for him, have him come kiss me in the stands after he won, go to dances and movies and dinner. You know, normal stuff." Normal stuff…I'd never given her any of the normal things either, unless you counted thousands of orgasms. Someday I'd make up for that. I swore it.

Her voice got quieter as she burrowed deeper into me. I tightened my arms around her, just showing her I was there and I wasn't leaving, like he obviously had. "But he said we couldn't really go out in public, that his break up with Emily was too recent and she was the jealous type and he didn't want her to come after me. I believed him because she was…well she was a bitch if I'm being honest." I chuckled and kissed the side of her head. I loved it when my Bella swore.

"I'm sure she was." And if she'd done anything to hurt Bella I would destroy her as well.

She sighed and squared her shoulders, as if gearing up for something big. I felt my own body getting tense as I waited for her to tell me the rest. "Eventually he wanted more than just kissing and touching under the clothes. I wasn't ready to have sex with him but he convinced me that I was sending him home every night with blue balls and causing him pain. He didn't flat out say that he'd leave me but he made sure to indicate that there were plenty of girls that would take care of his needs. I didn't like the thought of hurting him so I asked him what he wanted me to do. First, he taught me how to give him a hand job but then he said that wasn't satisfying enough and he wanted my mouth."

I was seeing nothing but red as I listened to her talk about how she'd been guilted into giving the bastard a blow job. Of course my Bella was too kind hearted, too good to see through his manipulations. She didn't understand horny teenage males. Her naiveté was both refreshing and disturbing.

"I was scared but I wanted to please him and I wanted to keep him. I'd never had a boyfriend before and I was too stupid to see that I didn't even have one then." Her voice was filled with bitterness and pain so I tried to shake off my anger and be supportive. It was fucking hard though. I wanted to run to Washington and go on a killing spree and we hadn't even gotten to the part where she got her heart broken yet.

"So, I gave him one, and then another and…well, you get the picture." Yes I did and I didn't fucking like it one bit. "That went on for a couple of weeks and I thought all was well. Mike's grades were better and I thought he loved me and I finally felt like I belonged somewhere and with someone."

"Did he tell you that he did?" I didn't know why, but the thought that he had said that, when I still hadn't, made me feel even angrier and something else I couldn't identify.

"No, which is why I was so stupid to think that he did. I just felt like he did, every time he kissed me and held me and told me I was his." His…as if she could ever belong to someone that didn't appreciate her. As if she could ever belong to anyone but me. He could never have loved her like I did. He didn't deserve her.

"Did you love him?" Even saying the words felt wrong and made me want to go on an even bigger killing spree. If she'd loved him and he hurt her knowing that, then all bets were off and he was going to die. I didn't care if I did break a promise.

She shrugged. "I thought I did, the way you do when you're eighteen and in your first relationship. I wouldn't have done that if I hadn't. In retrospect? No, I was in love with the idea of him. I clearly didn't know him at all."

I could live with that. She'd been young and naïve and thought she was in love, she wasn't the first and she wouldn't be the last. I was the one she would love and I would love her back, forever. "So what happened?"

She held her breath for a minute and blew it out. "I went to school on what I thought was a normal Monday. I hadn't seen or talked to Mike since Thursday. That was the last time we'd done anything, you know?" Of course I fucking knew. I hated that I knew but I had to know for my own piece of mind. Damn me and my curiosity.

"I walked down the hallway and there was all this giggling and whispering. People were staring at me. I thought maybe I'd buttoned my shirt wrong or had toilet paper stuck to my shoe or something." Her voice broke and I hugged her tightly to me. I wished I could go and walk with her down that hallway, face whatever happened with her and scare the piss out of anyone that dared laugh at her.

"I walked to my locker to get my books for my first class and I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned around and there was Tyler, one of Mike's friends on the basketball team, along with Eric and a couple of other popular guys. They were kind of surrounding me and I was trapped against my locker." Two new names to add to the list. I hadn't promised not to kill them and if they'd touched her…

"Tyler says to me, I didn't know we'd had your last name wrong all this time. I was really confused so I asked what he meant and he said he'd heard I had a different last name. I thought maybe he was talking about Phil's last name or something, but he wasn't." She paused and I squeezed her fingers in support.

"He said I was going by the wrong bird name." I had a bad fucking feeling I knew what she was about to say. "Instead of Bella Swan, I should be called Bella Swallows." Her voice broke and her shoulders hunched in shame. Fuck! White hot rage flowed through me and I fought my damndest to keep from yanking my hands away from hers and rampaging through the house breaking shit. I wanted to in the worst way. I was grateful she couldn't see my face because I didn't know what she would see there but I doubt I looked remotely calm.

"Then he held out his cell phone and there was a picture of me with Mike's dick in my mouth. I didn't know he'd taken it, my eyes were down, but you could clearly see it was me. They all laughed and then Tyler grabbed my breasts and asked me out and Eric said he got the next night and it was just horrible and I started crying. Luckily a teacher came down the hall so they let me go and went on to class. I just ran out to the parking lot and went home. I tried calling Mike, wanting some kind of explanation but of course he didn't answer or call me back." Death was not good enough for what he deserved, taking pictures of my Bella without her knowledge and giving them to his friends. And they, well they would not get off scot free either. I had never wanted to kill more than I had at that moment, not even when I was a newborn overcome with bloodlust. Only years of self control had me reigning in my temper.

"I told my father I was sick and I stayed home for a few days but I could only go so long without returning. I went back on Thursday and there were Mike and Emily, strolling hand in hand down the hall. He wouldn't even look at me. And everyone called me Bella Swallows, from that day until graduation. I ate lunch in my car every day and didn't talk to anyone…even the few friends I had distanced themselves from me." Some friends; this is why people sucked and were better kept away from unless you were looking to dine on one. Her voice was almost robotic at this point, like she was trying to remove any emotion from her story. I hated that whole town and wondered if I could figure out a way to wipe it off the map without the Volturi noticing.

I fought back all the anger that was coursing through me and pressed kisses to her hair and her neck and shoulders. A big part of me wanted to tell her that I loved her and would never let anything hurt her but I didn't think now was the time for something like that. I didn't want her to think I was lying to make her feel better or I'd said it because I felt bad for making me tell her story, which I did. But I loved her too and it pissed me off that anyone could hurt her that way.

"I'm sorry, baby. I'm sorry that happened to you and maybe you don't want me to say it but I wish I could go back in time and make it all better for you. If there was a way, I would do it." I'd give everything I had to take that pain from her.

"Thank you, Edward." Her voice was quiet and she sounded almost tired. I held her for a few more minutes until she pulled away and turned to face me. "You were right you know."

This was a rarity, for Bella to say I was right about anything. "About what?"

"I'm glad I told you. I didn't like relieving it but it feels good to get it out. I've never told anyone that before, not even Alice and Rose."

I stroked her cheek and she leaned against my hand and smiled. "Thank you for trusting me with it. I swear to you, Bella, I will never, ever violate your trust like that." My voice was filled with a sincerity that I didn't have to fake for once. It was God's honest truth.

She smiled softly and kissed me. "I know. I need a little time to myself. I'm going to go see Willow." That was a relief; I didn't even have to come up with a way to get away from her for a few minutes to do what I had to do.

"Okay, baby, come back when you're ready." She kissed me again and then rose gracefully and walked out of the bedroom. I watched her run toward the pasture and the sight of her helped calm some of the anger that was eating me from the inside.

I grabbed my laptop and did a search for high schools in Forks, Washington. Of course there was only one. I grinned when I pulled up their website and found the yearbook section. Schools were ridiculously stupid about putting things like yearbooks on the web for all the world to access. I pulled up the class of 2006 and began looking at the seniors. The class was fairly small so there were probably only a handful of Mikes. I found a nerdy looking one who probably was not a star athlete so I flipped along and then there he was. Mike Newton. Blond, blue eyed, smiling like he owned the whole fucking world. He'd own nothing when I got done with him.

I pulled up the team then and saw Tyler Crowley and Eric Yorkie and the rest of the basketball team. All of them were worth checking into. If they had that photo of Bella then they would pay just as dearly as Mike would. I ran across the Senior Superlatives and there was the blond Ken doll again, in several pictures for best smile, handsomest, mostly likely to succeed, best couple. And there was Emily, black hair, black eyes, bitchy face…I could see that she'd clearly thought she ruled the entire world. She was nothing next to Bella, nothing.

Bella's picture took my breath away. Her big brown eyes looked so sad, her smile was barely there but she was just so fucking beautiful…how did they not see that? Did they honestly think this Emily, this dime a dozen beauty queen, could remotely compare to my Bella? She was all that was good in the world and they were too blind to see it. They deserved one another. And what was coming to them.

I hacked into the University of Washington, which was absurdly easy to get into, and looked at Michael Newton's grades. He was as subpar as he appeared to be, with B's and C's and the occasional D. It wasn't much of a stretch to believe that he could fail out of school. I promptly changed all his grades to F's. Using his social security number, I found his bank account and grimaced at the meager $6283 that was in his savings account. I redirected that money into a charity for women…it was the least Mike could for treating Bella the way he had.

So, failing out of school and penniless, a loser like Michael would surely turn to his family in his time of need. I couldn't be sure that they knew what an asshole their son was, so his parents needed to be handled as well. A little research led me to Newton's Outfitters, some camping store in Forks. They didn't have a lot of money but they were doing alright. Were being the key word, as their savings went to the same charity as their son's had. They couldn't remotely be able to trace where it went either, I bounced the money from place to place and hid it under blinds and shields. I was thrilled I'd taken the time to learn my way around computers over the years. It had served me well time and time again.

I pulled out my cell phone and hit speed dial one. "Hello, Mr. Cullen. What can I do for you today?" The terror was clear in his voice and it made me feel slightly better. Mike would never know me, at least not any time soon, and any pain I caused him would not be my pleasure to see. Still, I'd do what I could now and someday I'd go after him again. That would be fun.

"I need you to call Garrett and give him an important assignment."

"The PI? What would you like him to do?"

"I need him to break into the apartment of Mike Newton, 232 Ashland Avenue, Seattle. Apartment 42. I want him to take any information he finds that contains grades, search his computer and phones for any pictures of a pornographic nature and destroy them all. The same goes for Tyler Crowley at 325 Main Street, apartment 16 and Eric Yorkie at the same apartment." I hadn't hacked into their grades yet but if they still had that photo of Bella, they would get the same treatment that Mike had. And maybe I'd have Garrett kill them too; Bella hadn't mentioned them in her request for mercy, a fortuitous oversight.

"What? Sir, what could you possibly…"

"Are you questioning me again, Jenks? Haven't we fucking been over this?" This was not the time to push me.

"Yes sir. I'll get right on it." God, he was a pain in the ass. He'd better not question me ever again.

"I also need you to get me a phone, untraceable, something like what the CIA or FBI uses when they don't want anybody to be able to track their movements. Can you manage that, Jenks?" The threat in my voice was clear as day.

"Yes sir. Do you want it sent to the New Jersey house?"

"No, send it to New York. I'll get it when I go into town next." I didn't want deliveries coming here; I wanted us as isolated as possible.

"Okay, sir. Anything else I can do for you?" He was kissing ass now but I wasn't in the mood for it.

"No, I'll be in touch." I snapped my phone closed and walked back to the window. Bella was smiling and petting her stupid cow, looking carefree and happy, unlike her expression just minutes ago when she'd poured out her heart. I was going to see to it that she never looked like that again, and the first thing I could do was give her back her father, if only via phone call. I might not have said the words yet but she would know I loved her when I brought him back into her life. It was the least I could do; give her back her one good memory of that awful town.

She'd never know what else I had done to avenge her, but I would and it would be enough, for now.

* * *

**A/N Kids are mean...Smugs is meaner :)**


	20. Chapter 18

**A/N Voting is now up in my profile for names for our friendly neighborhood inner voice. Let's give him a moniker, shall we?**

Taste of Innocence Chapter 18

I waited until I was out of earshot of the house, shifting gears in the Volvo and driving toward the highway before I made the call that I'd been waiting to make for two whole days. I hadn't been able to tear myself away from Bella when we'd returned home; making frantic love to her the instant we closed the front door. Then once we'd christened the hallway, I'd felt obliged to fuck her in every room in the house. It was only right that we break in the place in style. I smirked a little as I thought about fucking her in the barn, bent over a haystack. Thank God we smelled the smoke before we burned the whole fucking place down. I knew we were fucking hot together but that was a little ridiculous.

The phone rang and I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel until he picked up. "Garrett."

"It's me. What did you find?"

He chuckled and I tightened my hands on the steering wheel. I had yet to resort to showing Garrett my darker side. He didn't require the intimidation that Jenks did. The almighty dollar motivated him much more than any threats ever would. Still, I didn't like his laughter at the situation; it wasn't fucking funny what those microscopic, limp-dicked little motherfuckers had done to my girl.

"What do you think I found, man? They're twenty-two year old kids. Of course they had porn on their computers. Lots of it."

I bit back a growl. Hadn't Jenks fucking told him exactly what I was looking for? "I'm talking about more of the homemade variety. Camera phone, girl blowing a guy."

"Yeah, yeah, man, there were a few pictures like that. I fried every single one of their hard drives so they won't be seeing them ever again, just like you asked."

"Who had the pictures?" I demanded, this time unable to keep the anger out of my voice.

"Newton and Crowley." He laughed again. "Yorkie has…other interests." Other interests? What the fuck did that mean?

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"Let's just say that he's not interested in a girl blowing him. Queer as a three dollar bill." Well, that was fucking interesting now wasn't it? I wondered if his friends knew this.

"Is he in the closet or out?" I could totally fucking work with this.

"In, very deeply in from what I can tell. Crowley dragged him to some club and they were hitting on chicks last night." That was fucking perfection.

"Beautiful. And has Mike found out that he has no money yet?"

"Yes, he was supposed to go to the club last night but hit the ATM and found out. I've been listening to him argue with the bank all morning." I smiled; satisfied that something was finally going fucking right.

"Did you get a hold of their phones and check them?"

"Crowley and Yorkie, yes, I broke into their place the day Jenks called. I haven't checked Newton's yet. No pictures on theirs except for some lame party pics and shit. Nothing pornographic. Gotta tell you man, this is one of the weirder assignments you've ever given me." I waited for him to say something else but he didn't. That's why I fucking liked Garrett. He might comment on shit but he never questioned why I asked him to do it, unlike a short, fat, balding, stupid fucking lawyer I could name.

"Keep on them; hire extra men if you need to. I want to know the instant that fucker finds out he's failing all his classes. Check his phone too. If you can get compromising pictures of any of the three of them, especially the gay one, do that too." My mind was whirling with the possibilities of what I could do to make them pay further. Money, school…that wasn't enough. It would never be enough to pay for that look on Bella's face, the pain in her voice when she talked about what they did.

"Will do. For how long?"

"Indefinitely. Bill Jenks for anything you need."

"It's a pleasure working for you, Mr. Cullen."

"Keep up the good work, Garrett. I'll check in soon." I flipped my phone shut and gunned the engine harder, wishing those three were in front of me so I could run them down. Technically, I might not kill them; therefore I wouldn't be breaking my word to Bella. Accidents happen and all that shit.

_Do you think she honestly wants you to ruin those boy's lives for something they did several years ago? _Oh you have to be shitting me, you're fucking back? You have been blessedly quiet while Bella and I fucked the house down and yet the instant you get me alone, here you are fucking bothering me again. Why won't you go the fuck away?

_Because you continue to be such a fuck up that you can't possibly exist without me. _I'm existing just fine, numb nuts, or haven't you been paying attention the last five days?

_So you're getting laid a lot, do you think that's all that matters in life? _No, it's not all that matters, but it's a big one and I'm perfectly content with the way things are so don't come in here and try to piss all over it by bringing up…

_Love? Marriage? Forever? _I never said I had a problem with forever. _No, but you do have a problem saying "I love you." How many times over the past week have you thought about saying it? _I wasn't about to answer him. If he was such a fucking part of me, then he should know the fucking answer. _Three hundred and twenty seven times. _Fuck you. _Am I wrong? That's not even counting the eight times you thought of her as Bella Cullen in your mind. You're like a teenage girl doodling the name of her crush on her math book. _

I am going to drive this fucking car into the tunnel wall in an effort to kill you. Laughter rang in my head and I nearly veered into the wall just to prove a point but what point would it really prove? He was a fucking part of me and I couldn't die which meant he couldn't either; until I found a way to make him into a solid form. If it was possible, I would fucking do it.

_Are you quite through contemplating pointless ways to get rid of me? _Never, thinking about getting rid of you is one of my very greatest pleasures in life, behind anything to do with Bella, sex and feeding. _At least you put her first. _Always, irritant, I always do. _But that leads back to my question; do you honestly think she wants you to take revenge on those boys?_

Of course not, Bella is too good hearted to do what's right. She let those boys walk all over her and she'd continue to do so even though she could crush them to dust now because she refuses to open her eyes to the ways of the world. It's my job to take care of what she couldn't, because I love her. _So you're going to go against her wishes because you love her? That makes no fucking sense. _It makes perfect fucking sense if you have a brain which we've already established you don't.

She won't stand up for herself, so I will. _She doesn't need you to anymore. That part of her life, hell, her life itself, is over. Let it go. _Listen, motherfucker, you claim to be me which means you should fucking know what I can and can't let go. Do you really think that I can let them go unpunished and live with myself? That it won't eat at me forever if I don't do something? They get to live, that is my fucking gift to them. Stop questioning my methods. Bella just asked me not to kill the fucker who had her mouth on his dick, which I am going along with, despite my better judgment. Technically I never agreed not to kill the others, but I'm not doing that because she wouldn't like it. That is my fucking compromise on this issue. Isn't that what relationships are about, douchetard? Compromise? Well look at me, Mr. Relationship, making a compromise for his woman, all while taking care of her. I am a good fucking husband. Fuck! Boyfriend, I mean. I'm a good boyfriend.

_You're pathetic, but you're right about one thing. I know you and how fucking stubborn you are. Have fun dicking around with some pathetic jerks that didn't know better. _They'll know better soon enough. _Whatever you say. Going to add ring shopping into your list of shit you have to do in the city today? _He started laughing then. I should have known that motherfucker wasn't going to let my mental slip go by. His question wasn't even worth dignifying with a response so I ignored him as I pulled up in front of the post office.

I was having all my mail held for the time being, not wanting an unsuspecting mailman to approach the house in Jersey and tempt Bella inadvertently. I had several things to pick up so I went in and gave the disinterested mail clerk my address. He came out with one of those white mail tubs and several packages. "Man, this is heavy, you got bricks in there?"

I raised an eyebrow. Like it was any of his fucking business. Was everybody in the world as ridiculously annoying as Jenks? What was with all the fucking questions lately? I didn't bother to answer him, signing the orange slip with a flourish and handing it back to him, taking the heavy carton easily and smirking at him.

_What a dick! Mr. I'm Too Good To Answer A Question. He probably spends more on those fucking clothes than I make in a year. God save me from rich jerks that think they're better than everyone else. He probably has a tiny dick. _I couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up at that last bit of ridiculousness. Edward Junior was protesting loudly and demanding that I let him out so he could show the mailman that he was more man than he could even begin to imagine.

"Thanks," I flicked my eyes to his nametag, "Don. The clothes only cost about ten grand. I sincerely hope that you make more than that, though it would explain why so many of you, what's the term, go postal? How very apt." He gaped at me as I laughed and made my way out the door. God, people were fun to fuck with. I managed to forget that when I was all wrapped up in Bella. I couldn't wait until she had her bloodlust under control and we could come into the city and share it together again. It would be epic.

I put the mail bin in my trunk, nodding with satisfaction when I saw that Jenks had managed to fucking come through with at least one of my requests and procure the damn phone I'd asked for. The fact that he could be competent now and then was the only reason I put up with his overly curious ass. I slammed the trunk and got back into the driver's seat and drove to the brownstone.

It was strange, I'd thought of the brownstone as home for several years now. I owned places all over the world but this was the only one that I ever called home. The rest were just property, investments and temporary lodging. But standing in front of it, looking at it now, it wasn't home anymore. That was where my Bella was. And now I was turning into a movie on the fucking Hallmark Channel. Maybe I should go on Oprah and discuss how I'd found my true self when I met Bella. Jesus, I was fucking gone.

I shook my head and went up the stairs and opened the front door. I glanced into the music room but for once it didn't call to me like it usually did. Weird. Everything felt off here but I couldn't pinpoint if it was because Bella wasn't with me or if it was something else entirely. Shrugging off the feeling, I grabbed my favorite Les Paul off the wall and set it down by the front door. CDs…I had a fuck load of those but would take what I could now and just take carloads whenever I came back to town. I grabbed a bag from the front closet and placed as many cases as I could inside and set that next to the guitar.

I went upstairs to grab another bag. I had enough clothes with me already…well, unless Bella kept ripping them off me. Fuck, I hoped she'd keep ripping them off me; there was nothing better than Bella attacking me. Nothing.

I walked into the closet to get the suitcase and paused when I saw the chest sitting there. Everywhere I lived, I took that fucking chest with me. I hadn't even thought of it when we took off to Jersey. I wasn't sure what to think about it now. I picked it up and carried it to the bed, holding it away from my body. I loathed that fucking thing but I kept it to remember. It, and the things inside of it, was the only thing left from my human days.

Running my hands over the simple dark green chest with the ornate gold lettering took me back. This trunk had belonged to my mother. She'd kept supposedly sentimental shit, like her wedding dress and my christening gown and crap in it. Sounded fucking sweet, of course, except that she used them to hide her real treasures; vodka and whiskey and whatever the hell else she could drink. I think she cared about me, when I was too fucking young to remember it. I didn't know if I'd done something to kill her love for me or if it had been him. Always fucking him.

Realizing that I was still caressing the chest like it was some long lost lover; I curled my lip in disgust and flipped the latch, opening it. Part of me wanted to laugh at the meager contents. Twenty three years of human living and this is all I had to hold on to. Fuck, my life was so damn pathetic back then. I reached inside and took out the baseball inside. When I was 18, Carlisle and I had gone to the World Series to see the White Sox, our favorite team, play. How fucking ironic was that? The one thing we share together and it turns out to be a fucking fraud because they threw the damn series. It was all too fitting a commentary on my relationship with my father.

There was a gold watch from Brenda; my mother's friend who thought it was okay to teach a fourteen year old kid how to fuck. It stopped working ages ago but I'd held onto it for some unknown reason. Maybe because she had actually loved me, in her own fucked up way. I put that back down and picked up the yellow toy truck that one of my nannies, Jillian, had given me. She'd actually cried when she had to leave me, but it was hard to feel too sorry for her since she'd been fucking my father. Maybe she'd cried because of him, not me. Who the fuck knew?

I tossed that back down and reached for the final item. Four little things, five if you counted the box; that added up to my entire human existence. I didn't know what was sadder, the fact that I had so little or the fact that I fucking had it at all. I drew the final item out of the trunk and held it in my hands. It looked like nothing, just a white, curved fucking stick, but it was the most important thing I owned. Or took, I guess.

Grandfather's cane. How many fucking times had I been on the wrong end of this thing? I could probably count, if I wanted to. It was sad that that bullshit was burned into my brain and I could call it up at will just as easily as I could picture Bella's smile. Weren't human memories supposed to fade with time? Or had I held on to it because I needed to remember? I honestly didn't fucking know what to blame the memories on, but I was fucking tired of them.

I didn't need them anymore. I had made my own family and it was miles better than the one I'd been born into. Bella was everything I needed, everything I would ever need, and I was damn well going to see to it that I gave her everything she deserved. She would never have to wonder if she'd ever been loved by me. I was going to tell her the minute I got home. _It's about fucking time. _Shut up, I really don't need you now.

Without another thought, I snapped my grandfather's cane in two and threw it in the box. No matter how much I once longed to go back in time and use it on him; and I'd fantasized about that shit more times than I cared to count, he didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was that beautiful girl waiting for me back at home. I didn't need to waste another thought on him, on them. I closed the trunk and tossed it back in the closet.

I took a few more shirts and jeans and tossed them in a bag and carried that downstairs. I went into the living room and smiled fondly at the hole in the wall. This was the one piece of Bella that remained in the house and I really fucking loved it. Would she always be so volatile, or would it fade in time? I kind of wanted her to stay as she was. She was the most fucking fascinating creature I'd ever met and I knew she always would be.

_Do you hear yourself? Do you see what she's doing for you, finally? What it means? _I am not a moron, despite what you think of me. Leave me alone. I have shit to do and then I can get back to my girl. Faint laughter echoed in my head but at least he didn't feel the need to talk about it anymore. There was nothing to say.

I gathered a few more books for Bella. I didn't have a lot here but the ones I'd ordered should suffice for a little while. I'd set her up a phenomenal fucking library if she wanted it. The image of Bella, laying on the couch, her head in my lap while she read aloud and a fire crackled in the hearth, entered my head and I smiled at the thought. It was beautiful; she was beautiful and together we were something beyond beautiful. Holy fuck, I sounded like a god damn greeting card. What are you doing to me, motherfucker?

_Sorry, buddy, this is all you. You're turning into a giant fucking sap. I'm almost embarrassed to be you right now. _Please, you're the douche that's all about saying I love her. You're worse than I am any day. _That's a matter of opinion. I'm not writing fucking sonnets about holding her on the damn couch. I thought all you wanted to do was fuck her on that thing. _I have fucked her there and I will again. Doesn't mean we can't use it for other things now and then.

I glanced around one final time and tried to pinpoint what exactly was nagging me. I hadn't forgotten anything and I could always come back for more. What the fuck was different about this place? Just the fact that Bella wasn't here? Well, who the fuck knew? I'd figure it out next time I came back, I guess. I hefted the three bags and the guitar and carried them down the car, setting them in the trunk next to the mail. I got in the driver's seat and started the car, not bothering to look behind me. The brownstone, like the rest of it, was my past.

Night had fallen while I'd been packing and it was time to take care of my last, most important errand. I was pretty fucking starving, not having had anything since I shared that foul deer with Bella a few days ago. I'd planned to go hunting that night but Bella had been too freaked out about having a human nearby so I'd distracted her with sex for a day, then of course we'd finally talked about those pricks from her past and I couldn't leave her then. She was doing okay now, maybe a little quiet but she was still very much my Bella. I'd done my best to keep her smiling, making love to her for hours, telling her stories from my past and even watching some more of her stupid vampire shows. I'd been an epically good fucking boyfriend but now it was time to take care of my needs for once.

I drove past O'Rourke's bar and smiled. That was the place I'd first set eyes on my Bella. Thank God I'd been on a different type of hunt that night, because I never would have met her had I gone to my usual haunts. Her former friend, Rose, might have been a fucking bitch but she was the reason I'd met Bella, so I would always be grateful to her for that. I was glad I hadn't killed her when she'd insulted my girl, even if she didn't recognize the true gift that she'd been given in knowing her.

I wasn't going there tonight though. While the college kids there were once good for a potential fuck, I was no longer in the market for that and I wasn't likely to find the true evil I sought to satiate my hunger. I also smiled as I drove past the alley where I'd disposed of Jacob's right leg. I wondered if they'd found any of the pieces of him yet. It didn't seem likely, as I'd heard nothing and I still paid attention to the news to make sure that Bella's disappearance was no longer newsworthy. It made me both angry and happy that she hadn't been mentioned any further. A girl as wonderful Bella going missing should have been leading news, but in this jaded city she'd already been forgotten. Not by all, though. Her father would never give up. She'd have to call him soon. This city sucked, not in the good way, for forgetting a girl like Bella. I was glad to be leaving it behind.

I kept driving, further to the south, toward the area where I'd met and disposed of Tanya the whore. This was where I would find my prey tonight, in the dark recesses of the city, the place where nobody who was up to any good would dare venture. I pulled over and parked under a streetlight, in the hopes that nobody would attempt to fuck with my car if it was illuminated. Of course, if they did, they would just make shopping for dinner that much fucking easier, wouldn't they?

I got out and headed down the street toward Hugo's Tavern. I'd been here before, and in fact, this was where I'd met and later disposed of the biker's that I'd teased Bella with. They'd found gang rape to be a pleasurable bonding experience and I'd found that more than a little distasteful so I'd introduced them to some true pain. I smiled at the memory as I pushed open the door and entered the smoky dive.

It was crowded, the usual gang of people unwinding after a long work week. Thoughts immediately assaulted me and I fought the urge to smile. _What the hell is a pretty boy like that doing here? He must be lost. I'd be happy to point him the right direction, after relieving him of his wallet and maybe that jacket. _Okay, maybe I fucking smirked at that but come on. The guy who thought he was such a badass was barely six feet tall and fat as fuck, with tattoos up and down his arms. Did that make him fucking bad? Please. I hoped he'd try. It'd be fun breaking every bone in his arm.

I made my way over toward the bar. _Mmmm I'd like me a piece of that. _That would have been flattering had it not been coming from another fat guy who was imagining me bent over his bike. Not fucking likely, buddy. But dare to dream big. The barkeep sneered at me but asked what I'd like, all the while imagining me ordering some pink fruity drink. I ordered a beer and threw a ten down on the table.

That seemed to mollify him somewhat and I perched on the edge of the bar and surveyed the crowd. All eyes were on me, but that was nothing new. A couple of very unattractive girls were watching me, leaning forward, trying to show off their manmade breasts. They had nothing on my Bella. She was all real, soft and lovely. They could never aspire to be a tenth as appealing as she was.

Fuck, I needed to eat and get the hell back to her. I missed her already and it had only been a few hours since I'd seen her last. I felt itchy and weird not having her at my side. I pushed off the bar and went to a table in the corner, where I could see everyone. There were a few potential candidates here, I could feel it. Some thoughts had a darker edge, although they'd yet to think anything that called for death. It was only a matter of time.

I was so busy scanning minds that I didn't even notice her until she sat down in the chair next to me. Blond, blue eyed, tight white shirt that was unbuttoned down to the top of her breasts, some sort of tattoo that swirled over the right tit, leather jacket…I raised my eyes and looked at her expectantly, raising an eyebrow. What the fuck did she think she was doing sitting with me? I hadn't invited her over.

"Hi, handsome," she purred, reaching toward my left hand that was lying on the table. I yanked my arm away before she can touch me and she frowned but didn't leave. Damn it, what the fuck was wrong with people? I decided to just ignore her.

"What brings you here tonight? Looking for some action?"

I flicked my eyes to her. If she only knew. "Maybe."

She licked her lips and I barely resisted rolling my eyes. "I'm sure I could show you a good time." That was so very fucking doubtful.

I made a noncommittal noise and continued to scan the bar. There was a guy over in the corner that caught my interest and another guy at the bar. His eyes were shifty and he definitely had a weapon on him. I just wasn't sure what his deal was yet but I didn't need this slut distracting me with her ill-fated attempts to hit on me. It was not fucking happening.

"What's your name?" Seriously, bitch, would you get the fuck away from me? Maybe if I didn't answer her she'd get the fucking hint. I heard her next to me, furiously trying to think of ways to get my attention, from grabbing my fucking cock to making the button mysteriously pop off her shirt. As if I would ever let her hands near Edward Junior. He belonged to Bella, just like I did. He agreed with me completely, not showing any remote interest in being touched by the woman who was encroaching on my space.

"Want to get out of here?" Jesus fucking Christ woman, go away.

"No." I finally turned to look at her again. The mascara was caked on her lashes and her eyeliner made her look like a raccoon. She might have been pretty, once, but she would never have been my type, even before Bella came along. "I'm married." Fuck, where had that come from? Well, it served a purpose; it didn't mean I wanted to be married. That was just ridiculous, no matter what fucktard said.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her," she purred again, licking her lips and leaning toward me. White hot rage shot through me at the thought of her being so willing to disrespect Bella, whether she was my wife or not.

"I don't cheat," I growled, glaring at her. My eyes were gray today and maybe she saw something in them, or finally heard the disinterest in my voice, because she blinked and scooted her chair back quickly.

"Sorry." _Lucky girl. _Well she finally had something right. She got up and walked back over to the other side of the bar, rejoining her equally slutty friends, telling them that I was married and apparently not willing to play. Good, maybe they'd all leave me the fuck alone.

The guy at the end of the bar, who had been thinking about robbing someone, had his eyes on the same chick that had just left me. Ah ha…he was the one. He wanted to follow her out and pull his knife on her. Had that been his only thought, I would have let him live, but he thought that using it to carve her up would be fun. She may have been annoying and disrespectful of my Bella, but she didn't know her and she didn't deserve to die.

Well, I could certainly use this to my advantage. I walked over to the girl's table and gave her my best smile. _Holy shit, he came back. I knew he couldn't resist me. _Sure, sweetheart, whatever you need to believe. "Sorry about before, I had something on my mind. I shouldn't have been so rude. What's your name?"

Her blue eyes widened and she grinned up at me. "Shelly."

"Hi, Shelly, I'm Jason. Can we maybe start over?"

_I knew it. No guy that gorgeous can be tied down by one woman. Hmmm, I wonder if he'd let me tie him down tonight. _I bit my lip in an effort not to laugh and waited for her response. "Sure."

"How about we get out of here?" She was already standing before I'd even finished getting the words out. "I've gotta use the bathroom. Wait for me outside, okay?"

She nodded and grabbed her purse and walked out the door without a thought to her own safety or a goodbye for her friends. I shook my head at her idiocy and walked past my prey and over to the bartender. "Can I get another beer?"

He looked at me. "Taking it to go?"

"Nah, I was just fucking with her. She's not my type." I sounded like a real dick, but then I didn't really care.

My prey perked up at that and pushed off the barstool. "Night, Tommy."

"See ya, Jimmy." Tommy handed me my beer and I gave him a twenty this time, happy to have finally found my victim so I could get the fuck home. I walked away from the bar and out the front door, following Tommy and grabbing him before he could go around the side of the building where Shelley was waiting to show me a good time. I'd found the good time I wanted.

He barely got a peep out before I yanked him off his feet and carried him down into the parking lot, away from the bar and the lights and the traffic. I ducked between a van and a truck and pushed him up against the side of the white van. "What?" he spluttered, terror on his face as he saw me glaring at him. "What the fuck are you?"

I smiled, relieved that he wasn't going to go through all the questions I usually fucking hated, the attempts to convince himself that I was a mere mortal that couldn't end his life with just a thought. "I'm a vampire," I told him, showing my teeth and letting out a low growl. He cowered against the side of the van, his two hundred pound frame shaking in terror.

"There's no such thing," he whispered, but he didn't believe his own words. I wound his long red braid around my wrist and tilted his head to the side, giving myself perfect access to his neck. I chuckled at the tattoo he had there, a pair of lips with fucking fangs. That was sheer fucking perfection.

"You look like you believe, although the fang thing is a fucking myth." Damn you Hollywood. "Want to know why I picked you?" Yes, I needed to hurry up and get the fuck home to Bella but it had been awhile since I'd fed and I deserved a little enjoyment out of the process. She'd played with her bear for awhile before killing it, hadn't she? Fair was fair.

He tried to shake his head but I was holding his braid tightly so he couldn't move. "Well, I don't like men who think that it's fun to play with knives. Knives hurt, Jimmy. You know that?" He didn't say anything so I pulled on his braid and made him nod. "Do you like blood, Jimmy?" He made some gurgling sound and I took that as a no. "Don't lie, clearly you do. You wanted to watch Shelly bleed, didn't you?"

His terrified eyes darted to and fro but he said nothing. At least he wasn't fucking denying it. "Well, I happen to like blood, a lot. And seeing as you've been so kind as to mark the spot with your little vampire tattoo, I think I'll help myself. Would that be alright, Jimmy?"

"Please, God, no," he whispered.

I glanced around and looked up. "I find it ironic that you pray to a God that would surely send you straight to hell for what you were about to do, Jimmy. He's not going to help you. Sorry, I guess it's just not your night." And without any further ado, I sank my teeth into his neck and started to feed, the hot blood pumping into my mouth as Jimmy cried out in terror. I threw a hand over his mouth and continued to drink, swallowing mouthful after mouthful of blood as Jimmy's voice got softer and finally died off as he slumped against me.

I drank on, doing my best to enjoy it but for some fucking reason I wasn't feeling nearly as good about feeding as I usually did. Bella's face flashed into my mind. Shit…no, it couldn't be. It wouldn't be. I was not letting her ruin my eating habits. She'd changed me too fucking much already and I was good with all of that but I was not giving this up. It had just been awhile and I'd had all that animal blood and it was confusing me. Maybe it had affected my brain, like some kind of poison.

_You keep right on telling yourself that, buddy. _You, shut the fuck up now. I just had a momentary lapse. It still tastes good to me, way better than that shit she's drinking. Temporary insanity.

I finished with Jimmy and held him still while I grabbed the knife out of his pocket and slashed it across my bite, letting his body fall between the vehicles. Somebody would make a grisly discovery later. Not my fucking problem though. I kept the knife and ran out of the parking lot, heading to my car a couple blocks down. I needed to get home to Bella. The only reason I hadn't enjoyed my kill was because she was alone and needed me. That was it. That's why I'd seen her face while I was feeding.

I tossed the knife in the back of the car and took off, heading back to my girl. She was what I needed now, to bring me back to some normalcy. Everything just felt different in the city now, and that had to be because I didn't belong here anymore. Maybe I should try feeding in New Jersey. Surely there were some people worthy of killing there. I was just out of my element now.

_You're out of something, alright, and it's your fucking mind. You know damn well that Bella would hate you killing that guy and that's why you saw her face and that's why you didn't enjoy it. _I did so enjoy it; my taste is just fucked up from that stupid deer blood. My tongue is probably rebelling. _Your tongue is just as much of an idiot as you are._

My tongue is not an idiot, it is sheer genius. You can ask Bella if you don't believe me. _Oh sure, turn everything into a sex joke. When are you going to admit that you can't kill people anymore because you know it bothers her? We both know she owns you, so you should just end this battle and give in. She gave in and had sex with you, now you give in and give her what she wants. _

I am going to give her what she wants. I'm telling her I love her when I get home. She's my family and she needs to know that. Isn't that enough fucking admissions for one day? _I suppose, but she'll like it a lot better if you tell her you love her and you're also not going to kill people anymore. _Oh don't you start adding shit the list you asshole, you told me she'd be blown away by my declaration of love; you can't say I have to say that and other shit. It's not fair. This is hard enough for me and I have no intention to stop killing. _What if it's the difference in making her love you back? _

What if it was? What if she would only love me if I became some alternate, neutered version of myself? Could I fucking live with that? Did I want to live with that? Having Bella love me would be a priceless gift but if it came at a cost, then it wasn't really priceless was it?

I pondered that the whole way home and I didn't really have a fucking answer. Loving her, for now, was going to have to be enough. If she didn't love me back, because of who I was, then I guess it was her loss. I'd been good to her, really fucking good, and she had to see that. I didn't like everything about her, but I loved her. Surely she could love me despite what she saw as my flaws, not that I truly had any.

I turned onto the dirt road leading to our house and I felt lighter immediately, knowing I was going to see her soon and tell her I loved her. I pulled up the drive, a smile on my face, and got out of the car, leaving all the shit I'd brought with me inside. We'd get to that, after I told her just what she meant to me. I started to walk toward the house when something hit me, some smell that didn't belong. Grass, mulch, dirt, leaves, that fucking cow, wood, Bella…all that was there but there was something else. What the fuck was it?

Cocking my head, I heard Bella inside the house, talking away. What the fuck? Who the hell was she talking to? I had my phone with me...maybe she had the TV on. Surely one of the neighbors wasn't over; I doubted Bella was having a friendly conversation with a human over tea. I walked into the house and the scent was stronger. It was sweet but spicy, like sugar mixed with cloves or some fucking thing.

I followed my nose, and Bella's voice, into the living room and stopped dead. She was sitting on the couch, smiling, talking and gesturing to some man who was sitting in the green armchair across from her. He had black hair, pale skin and red eyes. Vampire. What the fuck?

* * *

**A/N Dun dun dun! Who ever might that be? Guesses? Thoughts? Has Smugs been loveblocked again? **

**A quick hello to all the new readers who came over in the past couple of weeks, you guys blow me away and I'm thrilled you're along for the ride. Next update, we'll meet the stranger and see how Smugs reacts to another male vampire in Bella's vicinity. Methinks there might be a tad bit of Possessiveward about to show up, but we all love him, don't we?**


	21. Chapter 19

**A/N Somehow or other this story won a Hidden Star Award for best one-shot! I didn't know I was nominated but thank you to whoever voted for me! It was quite a shock, seeing as this is over 20 chapters now, but it was initially a one-shot and I love winning so I'm gonna take it! You all are the best! Thank you!**

**IMF seems to be our run away winner for inner voice, so there you have it! Thanks for the voting!**

**I suppose you're all anxious to find out about mystery vamp. More babble below!**

Taste of Innocence Chapter 19

What in the ever living fuck was my woman doing entertaining some strange vampire in our home when I was gone? How the fuck did she manage to find a vampire in fucking Jersey of all places? I could count on two hands the number of vamps I'd encountered in over a century, yet Bella fucking manages to meet two of us in a matter of weeks. Was she a fucking magnet for our kind? Would they all want her like I did? I would have to do a shitload of fucking killing if that was the case, not that I wasn't more than up for that. Whoever he was, he was a dead man if he laid a hand on her. She was mine.

Bella shot me a gleaming smile and a bit of my ire melted under the beauty of her face. She was the most stunning creature I'd ever encountered; that I ever would encounter. She reached over and put a hand on the strange vampire's arm and I felt a white hot bolt of anger fire through me. Unbidden, a growl sounded deep in my throat and the other vampire laughed. He fucking laughed. _At me. _Nobody fucking laughed at me.

"I think your mate doesn't like you touching me, dear heart," he told her, amusement lacing his tone. He had a slight accent…Greek maybe. His voice was smooth and he didn't seem to give a damn that I was about to take his fucking head off. Dear heart? What the fuck kind of thing was that to call her? She was my woman.

Bella looked between the two of us, confusion on her gorgeous face. "Mate? What do you mean by that?"

_Surely she knows that they're mated…is she playing me? I hoped she'd be playing with me but it's pretty clear that that's not going to be the case now. _Damn right it isn't, motherfucker.

He placed his hand on top of hers and I was pretty fucking close to going and ripping his arm off and throwing it against the wall, but then he just patted her hand and removed it from his arm. Wise fucking choice, bastard. Maybe I won't torture you before I kill you.

"How new are you?" he asked her, though his eyes remained on me. What the fuck was going on here?

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house, with my mate?" I demanded, my teeth clenched and my hands balled into fists to keep from tearing him apart before I had an answer or two.

He tossed his head and shot me a glittering smile. _This one wants to kill me. I hope he's not stupid enough to attack a member of the Volturi. I guess I'll find out soon enough. Good thing Felix and Alec are in the city, should I need them._ What the fuck was one of the Volturi doing coming after me? After Bella? Surely they weren't pissed at me for creating one vampire in my entire existence. What could it be? It was probably a damn good thing I hadn't ended him when I wanted to.

"My name is Demetri. I am of the Volturi. I've come to speak with you, Edward Cullen. You know who we are?"

"Yes." I walked over and sat next to Bella, sliding my arm casually around her. She was looking between the two of us with rapt attention, much like when she watched her ridiculous fucking vampire shows. Well, I guess she was getting one live and in person now. It was like being on Broadway for her, probably. God, she was fucking adorably crazy.

Demetri smirked as he looked at my hand lingering on her waist. _Pity. I should have made a move on her sooner. Waiting for him was a mistake. Still, maybe when she hears my news, she'll leave him and come to Italy with me. I could give her much more than this silly little farm in the middle of nowhere. She was meant to see and be seen. He probably hides her away so he can have her all to himself. _

It took every fucking ounce of strength I had to keep from reacting to his thoughts. I didn't want any member of the Volturi to know that I could read minds. I wasn't going to join their pansy club and hang out in Italy with ancient vampires bored out of my skull day in and day out. Not my fucking style.

"You, apparently, know who I am." How the fuck the Volturi knew about me was a mystery I wanted to solve right now.

"Yes." He sat back and steepled his fingers, his eyes moving between Bella and me. "You're Edward Cullen, born in 1901, reborn in 1923, CEO of Cullen Industries, a multi-billion dollar corporation that deals in oil, technology, investments and many other avenues. You're thought to be an eccentric hermit and every couple generations another Edward Cullen is born to be the figurehead. What number are you supposed to be now?"

"Five," I replied, trying to sound bored but I really was fucking irritated that he knew as much as he did. "How do you know all this? How did you know I was a vampire?"

He chuckled and I thought about throwing Bella's copy of _Catcher in the Rye_ at his head. Would the Volturi sentence me to death for throwing a book at one of their members?

"We make it a point to keep an eye on all giant, successful corporations, particularly those with mysterious CEOs that are never seen. Our kind tend to amass nice fortunes over their lifetime and it pays to know who might be an asset down the line." He sat back and picked fussily at his white silk shirt, apparently finding some invisible speck of lint. Fucking pansy. He grinned at Bella and she smiled back at him and I thought about blinding him with the fire poker by the hearth. It would only take a second.

"How did you find me?" I demanded, irritated at the idea that these fuckers had been aware of me for years. I'd done everything I could to stay off the fucking radar but apparently that wasn't good enough. Who knew you could be too fucking unobtrusive?

"I went to your headquarters in Chicago. I figured surely someone there was in touch with you. It didn't take long to find Jay Jenks. Talkative, delightful fellow." Jenks was going to fucking die. He'd defied me for the last fucking time. I'd enjoy ending him slowly. "He wouldn't tell me where you were, but I broke in after hours and found a file that looked interesting. It had your New York address and this place." He made a sour face. Fuck you, Demetri; you know shit about living in a real home. It seemed Jenks had done nothing that would allow me to justify killing him. I was almost happy about that.

"Naturally I went to New York first, but I found nothing there but some belongings and a hole in the wall." Bella flinched and I tightened my arm around her and kissed her cheek. That was our hole and I loved it. She leaned more into me and I smirked at the fucking interloper. "I picked up two different scents but didn't realize you had a companion, until I arrived here and met the lovely Isabella." He gave her a feral smile and I pictured ripping out his teeth one by one and driving them into his skull. It was a pleasant image.

"I'd only been here for a few minutes when we heard you arrive. It seems my timing was just off." _Wherever you were, you should have stayed there for longer. I would have liked to learn more from your girl. _I wondered what in the fuck he and Bella had been talking about prior to my arrival.

"Well, now I know how you came to be here, but I don't know why. What the fuck do you want with me? Surely I haven't done anything to draw the ire of the Volturi."

His smile faded at my words and his eyes narrowed. "Of course not, Mr. Cullen. You've been beyond reproach, living your life in major cities where missing people and unexplained violent deaths would be par for the course. We appreciate vampires such as yourself that take care in your kills." Bella made a little noise next to me and I hoped to God that she wasn't going to say shit, not now.

Demetri's ruby eyes focused on her. "Do you disagree, Isabella? Surely you don't think you'll be able to stay here indefinitely? This is a small community and missing people will be noticed and not forgotten."

I tightened my grip on her, silently begging her not to fucking say anything but this was Bella I was fucking talking about, of course she was going to say something. "I don't eat people. I get my blood from animals." And there it fucking was. I shook my head as Demetri stared at her like she'd grown a second head or something. His thoughts were a jumbled mass of incoherency and disbelief. Welcome to the club, buddy.

"You don't eat people? Why ever not?" His accent was a bit thicker now, definitely Greek, and he was regarding Bella like she'd offended him. He better not insult her crazy ass life choices or I would kill him and deal with the fucking consequences later.

"Because I don't want to," she told him simply, shrugging her shoulders. "They never harmed me, so why harm them? I can live off of animal blood. Edward," she broke off and turned to me, touching my cheek with her left hand, "was kind enough to buy this place so that I could have someplace to hunt." She smiled triumphantly. "I killed a bear a week ago, my first real kill." Then she frowned. "Well, unless you count Jacob but that wasn't really my fault, Edward had him in the room when I woke up and I didn't know what I was doing."

_What in the hell is going on with this woman? Who is Jacob? She killed a bear? A bear? Why in the hell would anyone want to drink from a bear when humans were so very delightful? Maybe I should take her to Aro; he'd want to study this strange little vampire. _I didn't know who the fuck Aro was but if Demetri tried to take Bella anywhere it would be the last fucking thing he did, that much I knew.

"What made you think of drinking an animal? I don't understand?" He looked at me for clarification, as if I had the fucking answer that particular mystery. Like I hadn't been asking that very question a billion times since Bella had refused human blood. I hoped to God that she wouldn't…

"Well, first I tried to drink donated blood, like Angel did, but it tasted awful. So then I remembered that Stefan drank animal blood and Edward agreed that I could try it when I promised that if it didn't work, I'd kill humans then."

_Angel? Stefan? Other vampires? Are there strange vampires across the land trying blood alternatives? Why? _I couldn't stop the laugh that welled up at his thoughts and the expression of complete bafflement on his face. Been there, asked that. It was fucking fun to be on the other side of it for once, though, to see that I wasn't the only one who found Bella to be fucking batshit crazy.

"You know other vampires that have tried this animal blood?" he asked, his voice sounding slightly strangled.

"Do no vampires watch TV?" Bella demanded, looking first to me and then to him. "Seriously, you guys are awake 24/7 and you never sit down and watch TV shows? I would think you'd want to know what the outside world thought vampires might be like so you could avoid exposure!" She threw up her arms in outrage and she was so fucking adorable that I kissed her neck. She glared at me but didn't push me away while he stared as us like we were a science experiment gone awry.

I started stroking Bella's hair while I answered Demetri. "Bella is a bit of vampire TV connoisseur. She had a small vampire obsession before I came into her life." I grinned at her as she huffed out an irritated breath of air. "After she killed my gift for her, she was a little bit pissed at me." That was the understatement of the century. "And she told me she wouldn't be drinking human blood again. Then she made me watch these fucking vampire TV shows, which are racist by the way, and she asked to try their methods of survival. I got her donated blood and she hated that so we moved here and she's trying animals. So far, it seems to be working for her, even though it's not very appetizing."

"You liked the bear blood!" Bella interjected, frowning at me. I leaned forward and bit her lip and she pushed me away.

"I liked licking the bear blood off you and the flavor wasn't entirely revolting. The packaging, however, was exquisite." Bella gasped and Demetri coughed. Fucker. I would totally be fucking her right now if he wasn't here in the way.

I turned back to him. "Bear blood isn't that bad, it's tangier than we're used to but edible. Deer blood is disgusting; it's like eating grass or some fucking thing."

He blinked at me. "You tried deer as well?"

I smirked at that memory. "Let's just say that I had a good incentive for doing so." Bella smacked my arm and Demetri muttered something that sounded like "lucky bastard." Damn right I was.

"But you still drink humans?" he asked, his brow furrowed.

I glanced at Bella and nodded. She didn't say a thing, just like she fucking promised. I was glad she wasn't ranting at me in front of him. I probably looked pussy whipped enough without that shit.

"So you will have both?" he asked. Like I fucking knew the answer to that question? That was something I'd yet to work out. I wanted just to do what I always fucking did but I didn't want Bella's disapproval every time I went to grab a bite either. Who the fuck knew? I just shrugged, since I had no answer.

"How old are you?" he asked, abruptly changing the subject.

Bella blinked. "I'm 22."

"You've been drinking animal blood for 22 years?" he asked, incredulously.

"No, she's 22 in human years. She's 3 weeks old, a newborn."

He gaped at both of us. "And she's only killed one human, when she first woke up?" _I really have to call Aro, he'd want to know about this. _Who the fuck was Aro and why would he give a damn? I wasn't letting anyone study Bella like some rat in a fucking maze. She was my girl and she was going to be as free and happy as she could fucking be.

"Yes. Now, if you're quite through asking a bunch of questions that have nothing to do with anything, can you tell me why the fuck you're here?" I didn't mean to be quite that fucking rude but he was irritating me and I wanted him gone so I could tell Bella that I loved her and she could say it back and we could get on with our fucking lives. Was that too much to fucking ask?

"Edward!" Bella gasped and punched me in my left arm. That fucking hurt and I rubbed the spot she'd hit. "Demetri is a guest in our home and you should be more polite." Oh Jesus, she sounded like some kind of schoolmarm or a librarian scolding a loud patron. It was hot as fucking hell and I wanted to attack her. The only thing holding me back was the raven-haired vampire regarding us with such interest.

"Ow, Jesus, Bella, are we back to the hitting thing?" I turned to him. "See, she's a normal newborn in some fucking ways." She hit me again and I winced but didn't give her the satisfaction of reacting to it. "I apologize for being rude, but could you please tell me what brings you here? Have I done something to upset the Volturi? If so, I fucking apologize and won't do it again." That was probably a lie, but he didn't need to know that.

"Fucking this and fucking that," Bella muttered, glaring at me.

"I didn't hear you complain about it when I was fucking you," I informed her, which earned me another smack while Demetri began laughing from his spot in our green recliner. Fucking bastard, I was glad he was enjoying the show.

"It's rude to use that word in every fucking sentence, especially when we have fucking company!" she shouted, trying unsuccessfully to smack me again but I was off the couch and dodging her blows as best I could despite the fact that I was laughing my ass off. God she was a fucking delight when she was pissed off.

_She's glorious, like an avenging angel. _That sobered me up, coupled with the adoration I heard in his tone. Oh no, fucker, she's mine and I'm the only one she'll be abusing. Bella took advantage of my distraction and managed to punch me in the gut before I came to my senses and scooped her up. She struggled in my arms but I plopped back down on the couch and grinned at Demetri as if I didn't have a hundred pounds of spitting angry woman in my arms.

"As you can see, my Bella is a passionate woman. I apologize for being rude and will try to limit my use of the word fucking while you are here. Happy now?" I asked Bella, who stopped squirming and sighed. She started to push off my lap but I held tight and she stayed, resting her head on my shoulder. Suck on that, you Greek douche, she's mine.

"Now, what brings you to our humble abode, Demetri?" I didn't take the sarcasm out of my tone, because she hadn't requested that. It wasn't overly rude and fuck it, he knew I didn't want him here. Why hide behind pleasantries?

He shook his head and smiled. "You two are fascinating. I really must tell my leader, Aro, about you. I think he'll want to visit you and see for himself someday." _And I'd love for him to get a read on these two. All he'd have to do is touch them and he'd know everything we could ever want to know about them. I want this spitfire and knowing more about him could only speed up the process of extracting her from his side._ Like fuck he would. I'd make damn sure this Aro never touched me or Bella and Demetri would be lucky if he lived to see the New Year. I may not be able to kill him today, but I'd kill him soon. Nobody would take my Bella from me, nobody.

"The Volturi is like our government now, right? Edward told me that I couldn't go out in public, because I would attack people and possibly bring your attention on us. Do you kill bad vampires?" Bella asked, looking him with wide eyes. I couldn't resist kissing her nose because she looked like a little kid that was afraid of getting her hand slapped.

Demetri chuckled and gave her a bright smile. "Not necessarily, Isabella. We educate vampires, teach them to survive and live undetected. There are some vampires that resist, that have to be eradicated, but generally we're just there to help and guide our kind." What a load of fucking bullshit that was. I snorted but didn't say anything. _Insolent bastard, she's far too good for you. _Well, that was fucking true enough but she was far too good for him as well. And I found her and I loved her. He just wanted her as another conquest. Fuck that.

He looked at me, his eyes boring into mine. "It's because of that situation, that I am here." What, he fucking wanted to eradicate me? Good fucking luck.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, my voice rough as my arms tightened around Bella protectively.

"There have been some attacks, lately, that have caught our attention." What? The random fuckers I killed in the city? There was nothing that linked them. I hunted in different locations, across color lines and gender lines and socioeconomic lines. What the fuck could I have done?

"What attacks?" Bella asked, her little body tight with nerves. I stroked her hair and waited for his answer. We might have to fucking run. I could snap his neck and Bella could start a fire and we could take him apart and take off, head up to Canada maybe and from there go deep underground. I'd get whatever money I could and cut off all communication with Jenks. We could survive, as long as we were together.

"Clergy." What? I'd never attacked a fucking priest, at least not since…oh fucking no, it couldn't be. I shook my head and Demetri saw my denial and nodded. "Yes, I see you've already put it together."

"Put what together? Edward, what's going on?" Bella sounded panicked and I stroked her cheek. Fuck…of all the shit in my past that could come back to bite me in the ass in front of her, why this?

"Nothing baby, it's alright. I just know the vampire he's referring to."

"You know someone who kills priests?" She started to struggle again and I let her move off my lap and sit next to me. I hoped she didn't fucking hate me when she heard the rest of it.

"I did, baby, a long, long time ago. Victoria," I glanced at Demetri and saw that he knew the name already, "was the vampire that created me. She had a thing for killing priests and nuns and religious people. I don't know exactly why, but I believe she was abused by one as a child. She claimed that once, anyway, but she was insane so I don't know what was true and what wasn't."

"Victoria," she said softly, drawing out each syllable of the name as if committing it to memory bit by bit. I wondered what the fuck that was about. "She was the one you ran away from."

I took her right hand and she didn't resist, gripping mine tightly. "Yes, love, as soon as I was able to control my bloodlust, I got away while she was out on a hunt. I haven't seen her since." I turned to Demetri who was still regarding us closely. "Why are you here? I haven't seen her or heard from her in decades."

"I know," he responded, crossing his legs at the ankles. "But she's been making her way across the country. Her latest kills were in Pennsylvania, five days ago. It is our belief that she's heading here, well, to New York anyway. To you."

I felt a chill move through me and Bella's hand clenched on mine even tighter. "Baby, that's a little hard." She loosened her grip infinitesimally but it was enough and I flexed my fingers a bit. "Why do you think she's looking for me? She has no reason to."

"Well, that's not necessarily true. According to a source, she's never gotten over you. She's been known to call her lovers by your name." And Bella's hand was tightening on mine again. Fuck. Fuck it all, this shit could not be happening, not now.

"How do you know this?" I asked, my mind whirling, unable to really focus as memories assaulted me. Blood and sex and pain and fucking crazy, usually all four combined. Victoria was nuts and if she was coming for me, I had to get Bella the fuck out of here.

"I know because her latest companion, James Hunter, was captured after their most recent massacre. She managed to escape, barely, but he was not so fortunate. We convinced him to talk. It didn't take much persuasion." He smiled that feral smile again and I felt Bella shudder next to me. I used my right hand to break her death grip on my left and then pulled her close to me. She didn't resist.

"James was more than happy to tell us all about her obsession with you. It seems that Cullen Industries recently gave a major endowment to a museum in New York?" I nodded at his raised eyebrow. "She heard about it or read about it and decided that meant you were there. That's why they headed this way. She hasn't been to your place yet, but she'll get there eventually. James said she still knew your scent, even after all this time." I wasn't surprised. She'd always sworn she'd be able to find me, even if a million people were crowded into one building.

"My fault," Bella whispered.

I turned to her and tilted her face toward me. "What, baby?"

"She found you because of me," she told me, her eyes impossibly sad. I wanted to rip Victoria's head off for putting that look on my girl's face. "You gave that money to the museum to take out Angela, because I made you. This is my fault."

"No, love, that's not true. She would have found me, eventually. She could have gone to Chicago just like Demetri did and found out that way. All that the money did was speed up the process. Maybe it's better that we get it over with." I didn't really fucking believe that it was better, but I wanted Bella to. She didn't need guilt over this. Victoria was my fucking problem, not hers.

_I don't think I even want to know who Angela is and what that's all about. _No, Demetri, you really fucking don't.

"So, you came to me to warn me? Or you want me to do something for you?"

"Both, really. It's pretty clear that she wants to find you and she's in the vicinity. We wanted to warn you to be vigilant, and to ask you to contact us if and when she does come to see you. We have no reason to believe she means you any harm, although she doesn't know that you have a mate, either. That may change her attitude toward you." He watched Bella closely.

"Oh, she means me harm, alright. She may not want to kill me, but Victoria's idea of romance is filled with harm. Are you going to stay nearby and wait her out?"

"That's the plan. We're going to keep an eye on your place in the city, as I'm fairly certain that's where she'll head first. This place being out in the middle of nowhere may actually work in your favor. I'm going to leave you my cell number, so you can call me if you see her or hear from her in some manner. Are you willing to cooperate?"

Of course I fucking was. I didn't want that bitch within a mile of me, let alone near my Bella. "Yes. What about Bella?"

_She's delectable. _Fuck you, Demetri. I still wanted to kill him but Bella was all that mattered now. "What about her?"

"I don't know. Is there any place you could take her so she'd be safe? If Victoria does find me, I don't want Bella to be anywhere near here. She'd kill her without a thought." It terrified me, more than anything, what she would do to my girl. I could deal with her fucking with me, but I wouldn't let her lay a hand on Bella.

He eyed me contemplatively. "We do have a compound down in DC, a smaller version of Volterra, if you will. She could stay there, although I don't know what could be done to accommodate her diet. I suppose they could go to the pound and…"

"I'm not eating dogs or cats!" Bella screeched, pushing away from me and storming around the living room. Fuck, there she went again. "And I'm not going anywhere without you, you jackass! What makes you think you can decide where I do and don't go? If you're staying here and waiting for that crazy, priest-killing bitch, then so am I!" She was pointing and shouting and gesturing and she was positively gorgeous.

I caught Demetri licking his lips and growled at him and he shrugged. "Sorry, but she's beautiful when she's mad."

"You don't have to fucking tell me that," I hissed.

"I don't know why everybody thinks that I can't handle one stupid fucking vampire. I can kick your ass, can't I?" she demanded, staring at me with her red eyes blazing. Fuck, she was hot.

"Yes, baby, you can clearly kick my ass but she's…"

"Crazy, yes I fucking get that. Well, so am I and if she thinks she's going to take my, what did you call it?" she demanded, looking at Demetri. "Mate? Yes, my mate away, then she's got another think coming. I'm not leaving you and I'm not leaving my home and I'm not leaving Willow. She can just come here and get her ass kicked and then be exterminated or whatever the fuck it is that the Volturi's do." She nodded decisively.

"Willow?" Demetri asked?

"My pet cow," she informed him. He laughed incredulously and I shook my head but it was already too late.

"And what the fuck is so fucking funny about me having a pet cow? People have farms and have cows and keep them, why the hell can't a vampire? What's so damn weird about that? Willow loves me and I love her. Stop making fun of me or I'll kick your ass too!" She was in full fury and she marched right up to Demetri and jabbed him in the chest. "Do you have a problem with my cow?"

He looked shocked and intrigued and aroused all at the same time. I wanted to wipe that look off his face but I knew for a fact my own expression probably mirrored his. I was just grateful it wasn't me she was jabbing at the moment. Of course, the instant he left, she'd probably lay into me even worse. "No, I have no problem with your pet cow. I'd like to meet her."

Bella looked slightly mollified and she took her finger out of his chest. "Maybe you can meet her when you come to take the crazy bitch away, if she ever gets this far. That is, if there's anything left of her after I get done with her." Okay, now that was fucking hot; my woman wanting a piece of my ex. I could construct about a billion fantasies over that one.

Demetri licked his lips again and I let out a warning growl. _Damn._ He sighed and got to his feet. "Alright, I better get going, she could be in New York by now, for all we know. She's elusive, I'll give her that." This was not fucking news to me. "My number is 283-555-1283. Please call if you even feel remotely threatened. I may return in a day or two, just to see if I can get a sense of her. I nearly had her in Philadelphia."

He turned to Bella and held out a hand to her gingerly. She smiled, calm for the moment, and placed her hand in his. He brought it to his lips and kissed the back. "You are a fascinating woman, Isabella. It is my hope that you will one day visit Italy and allow me to teach you of our history and our culture."

She smiled and took her hand back. "Maybe we'll come, someday." How fucking awesome was it that she said _we?_

Demetri's smile slipped a little but he nodded ruefully. "I suspected as much. Edward, it was nice meeting you. I do hope you'll be in touch in soon. I'll inform you if we apprehend her in the city." He didn't offer me his hand, which was probably a wise fucking move. I may not want to kill him at the moment but it was still very much an option.

He raised his hand in a wave and took off at a full run. I wondered where the hell he'd parked and also what the hell he and Bella had talked about before I got here. I shut the door and turned to face her. She was staring out the window, into the forest. "Baby, what are you doing?"

She didn't look at me but answered over her shoulder. "What do you think I'm doing? I'm looking for the crazy bitch."

I slid my arms around her waist and pulled her to me. "I really don't think she's out there, love. We'll hear if she gets close, so long as she's thinking."

She relaxed into me. "I always forget you can read minds. What was Demetri thinking?"

I growled and she giggled. "Yeah, I suspected as much. He was hitting on me before you got home, telling me all about how much I'd love Italy." She shook her head.

"Is that all you talked about?"

"Pretty much. He told me he'd come to see you and that he was with the Volturi and asked who I was and what we were and…"

"What did you tell him we were?" I was insanely curious to hear that answer.

Bella tensed against me and I kissed her cheek. "I said you were my boyfriend. Was that wrong?"

Boyfriend was as good a description as anything, although love of her life was infinitely more preferable. "No, love, that's not wrong at all."

She pulled away from me and turned to look at me. "Then why the hell did you try to send me off with Demetri to some group of vampires that I don't know that would have scared the shit out of me?"

"I just don't want her anywhere near you. Protecting you, keeping you safe, is all that matters to me. Do you think that I want to send you away?" Was she mad?

"How the hell would I know? I guess you'd hate losing access to easy sex while I was gone but I'm sure Victoria would be more than happy to fill in." She drew out the name again, emphasizing the tor part of the name and making it sound like whore, which was really fucking funny. What was not fucking funny was the fact that she thought I could just replace her with another willing body.

"Do you really fucking think that? Do you honestly think that I could ever be with her again after being with you? What the fuck, Bella? Do you think so little of me?" Was she really that fucking clueless?

"Well why the hell haven't you told me about her before? You never talk about the girls in your past and she's obviously a pretty important one since she made you into a fucking vampire and you spent months with her. How do I know what you felt about her if you don't tell me?"

"I have told you!" I roared, incensed beyond belief that she could remotely think I regarded Victoria in the same light as I did her. I took a breath and tried to calm down. "I told you a little bit about her, that she was crazy and that I was happy to get away. That should tell you all you need to know right there. I don't want to get away from you, baby."

"You were more than willing to send me away a few minutes ago!" She glared at me and stomped back into the living room.

I went after her like the trained fucking dog I was. "I was not willing to send you away. I hated the thought of sending you away but I would do it in a heartbeat to keep you fucking safe, Bella."

"Why? Why can't I be here to help you when she gets here? Two vampires are better than one, aren't they? Are you ashamed of me? Is she more beautiful than I am? Sexier? Why don't you want her to know about me?" She was outraged and sexy as all hell, flinging her arms this way and that as she worked herself up into more of a frenzy.

I grabbed her by her shoulders and looked into that furious, gorgeous face and gave her the only answer I could. "Because I fucking love you."

* * *

**A/N As Smugs would say, holy fuck, he said it! What do you think of them apples? Dying to know! Thought this was more fitting than some romantic setting. Not our boy's style! What do you think Bella will have to say about this revelation? IMF? We'll find out!**


	22. Chapter 20

Taste of Innocence Chapter 20

Well holy fuck, that wasn't how that was supposed to fucking go. Forget all the romance, candlelight and flowers, dipshit. Just tell her you love her in the middle of an argument. I supposed it was oddly fitting for the two of us but I had no fucking clue what Bella was thinking as she was staring at me as if I'd just announced that her beloved fucking TV vampires were all coming over to join us for dinner.

A high pitched squeal penetrated my thoughts and I felt a smile move over my face. It was about fucking time she acted like a real girl getting her first declaration of love from the man they loved right back. Of course she was excited, of course she was astounded, of course she was…

_Oh my God, you finally said it! My little boy is turning into a real man that admits his feelings! Oh happy day! _Jesus fucking Christ, I thought you were my girl. Why in the hell are you screaming like a little bitch? _Because you said it! Don't you know how momentous this is? I've been sitting in your head for almost a century waiting for someone to worm their way into your heart and you to actually open yourself up to it and you finally have. Aren't you excited?_

I might get fucking excited if Bella would actually tell me she loves me instead of staring at me like that. What the fuck is her problem? Why can't she react? _Give her time, you jackass. She's trying to process that a dipshit like you, who seemingly only loves himself, actually loves her. It's hard for a girl to wrap her head around._

You would know all about being a fucking girl, wouldn't you? Where the fuck were you when I was enduring the thoughts of that insipid motherfucker that wanted to take my girl away from me? Isn't it your job to fucking assist me during times like that? _Insipid? I thought he was rather attractive, actually. I'm sure Bella did too. _I fucking knew you were gay! Were you trying on ballet shoes while I was suffering through that barrage of thoughts you asshole? What good are you?

_I am amazingly good. Look how far I've brought you in a matter of weeks! Oh, I wish they gave a Medal of Honor to inner voices, because I would surely win! _Jesus Christ, could you stop patting your fucking self on the back and tell me what the fuck to do? She's not saying a word. What if she doesn't love me back? If she doesn't love me back and you made me tell her, I swear to God I will drive that fucking spike through my head, ruined looks or not. I don't need my fucking looks if Bella doesn't want me.

_God you're a fucking drama queen. If she doesn't love you back now, you work to make her love you. You worked to make her like you, didn't you? To make her make love to you? You just show her every single day that you love her and in time, she'll love you right back. No woman could resist you if you actually fucking tried, do you know that?_

Of course I fucking know that. No woman resists me when I don't even bother trying. _Again, I am rolling my eyes. Okay, Cocky One, well where's that fucking confidence when it comes to Bella? Why do you act like you've never won a woman before? _

Because she fucking matters, you douche! She means everything to me and if I lost her now…well fuck, I don't know what I'd do. I survived a shitload over my lifetime but I don't think I could deal with life without her. That makes me a whipped, pathetic, idiot. _No, it makes you a man in love. And I'm proud of you, even if you don't think it was the right time. She needed to know, especially if your beloved ex is going to drop by. Bella has self esteem issues and facing Victoria without knowing how you truly feel about her would not help that. _

Well, I have self esteem issues too and…stop fucking laughing at me, you asshole. _You? Self esteem issues? Surely you jest! _Well, not the same kind she does, but fuck, man, I am insecure when it comes to her and you know that. Try to stop being an asshole and tell me what the fuck to do!

_You could actually attempt to speak to her and try to shake her out of her stupor and find out what she has to say so that you stop torturing yourself worrying about it. Go ahead, you bastard. You got the words out, now find out what it means for you. I'll be right here if, no…when, you need me._

Fucking prick. Still, he was right. Bella hadn't moved from her spot and I'd been talking to that retarded douche for God knew how long. It was time to see what my girl had to say…if she was even my girl.

"Bella?" She didn't respond so I reached out to touch her shoulder and her ruby eyes, which had been glazed over, focused on me. Thank fucking God; she was back with me at least. "Baby? Are you okay?"

She nodded mutely, staring at me as if she was trying to bore into my skull to see inside my brain and find out what I was thinking. Hadn't I just fucking told her though? "So, um…do you have anything to say in response to what I just said?" How fucking ridiculous was that question? Still, I wasn't about to say those words again unless she was going to respond in kind. A man could only take so much fucking humiliation.

"Yes," she said. Finally, a fucking word. But what the fuck did the word yes have to do with anything? Nothing, that's what. She had something to say to it but she wasn't saying it because she was Bella and she was crazy and annoying and I loved the fuck out of her. Why me?

"Yes. Care to elaborate?" I asked roughly. I really hoped she'd have something to fucking say beyond the word yes, unless of course I asked her to marry me and then she could say yes, not that I really wanted to get married, but if I had to in order to keep her I definitely fucking could. It would only take a day or two for Jenks to get ordained and I could have her name legally changed, then we could get married with her stupid cow as a fucking witness for all I cared, so long as she loved me back.

"What's a mate?"

What? I tell her I love her and she asks me what the fuck a mate is? Maybe I've lost my ability to hear properly from too many smacks at her tiny, beautiful hands. Surely she's not questioning me about vampirism right after I gave her my fucking heart. "What?"

Her eyes narrowed infinitesimally and I knew she was starting to get pissed at me again, which was fucking ridiculous because I'd said I love you and that should effectively stop a fight, not fucking start one. Of course, this was fucking Bella and she never made any god damn sense so why should she fucking start now?

Her hands went to her tiny waist and she stepped closer to me and tilted her head up to look me dead in the eye. "I asked you what a mate is. Demetri said I was your mate and you didn't argue with him. I agreed with you because I didn't want to question it at the time but now I want to know what that means."

Were my ears really fucking hearing this right? "Bella, you did hear what I said, didn't you? About why I didn't want you to meet Victoria?" She hissed at the name and it was really fucking hot. If she would just acknowledge what I fucking said and return the sentiment we could be rolling around this fucking wood floor in approximately five seconds. But no, she wanted to fucking talk shit to death. Of course she fucking did.

"Yes, I heard you. Now answer my question." She tapped her foot impatiently, like I was some ill-behaved fucking toddler instead of 108 years old. What the fuck?

_Just answering her fucking question, you moron. I want to know where this is going! _That's all you have to fucking say? That's your idea of fucking helping me? Are you munching on some fucking popcorn up there, enjoying the fucking show? _Yes! Now answer her so we can find out where the hell she's going with this! It's really quite exciting, isn't it? _You're a fucking asshole and I hate you more than Victoria and Demetri and the fucking Volturi combined. _Yeah, yeah, answer her!_

May as fucking well since she clearly wasn't about to tell me she fucking loved me. We could talk instead of making love. That sounded like just as much fun. _Quit being a sarcastic dick and get on with it. _Fuck you.

I ran my hand through my hair in frustration. "I don't know a fucking lot about it, since I've never had a mate before, but it's pretty much what it sounds like." _Oh, that was fucking helpful. _Fuck off.

She huffed and jabbed me with her pointer finger just as she'd done with Demetri. And yes, it was still hot as fuck. It was clear she'd always have this effect on me. "Explain what it sounds like then, you jerk!"

"Oh sure, I'm the fucking jerk. I tell you I love you and you ask me what a mate is. What the fuck does that make you?" _Oh you idiot, you lost your temper and said exactly the wrong fucking thing. Have I taught you nothing? One step forward, five steps back with you always. I wash my hands of you! _

Bella glared at me and before I fucking knew it, her fist was connecting with my face and a loud cracking sound rocked the living room. I grabbed my jaw, relieved to find it was still fucking attached. "Jesus, Bella, what the fuck?"

"I asked you a damn question. Now are you going to answer or should I go find Demetri and ask him?"

How dare she throw that motherfucker in my face? She knew exactly what the fuck she was doing. This girl could fucking work me like nobody else and I both hated and loved that fact.

"Fine! I'll fucking answer! A mate is like the person, or in this case, vampire, that you're meant to be with. Like a soul mate, if we have souls. How the fuck do I know? Some animals mate for life and apparently we're capable of it when we meet the vampire that we're supposed to be with."

She nodded, chewing on her lip. I wanted to tug it free from her teeth, or better yet kiss her, but I had a feeling I'd get bitten if I did either one. She was so fucking contrary.

"So, am I your mate like Demetri said?" How the fuck was I supposed to know? I'd never been around a mated pair before. She was mine and I was hers, wasn't that enough of a fucking answer for her?

"I don't know. I mean, I want to spend eternity with you, so I would say that you are, but how the fuck do I know? He says we are and he probably knows." Fucking Demetri and his fucking big mouth. Why did he even have to bring it up? I didn't feel the need to fucking label what we were.

She glared at me again. What the fuck had I done now? "Could you please stop using the word fuck when you're talking about your supposed fucking feelings for me?"

"Supposed fucking feelings? What the fuck do you mean, supposed? And I'll use the word fuck if I want to. It's a good fucking word."

She went for my gut this time but I dodged the blow, leaping over the couch and keeping it between us for the time being. I didn't need to both get my heart fucking crushed and my ass beaten in the same fucking moment, thank you very much.

"I mean, how do you know you love me? If we're mated or fated or whatever the hell it is, maybe you're just falling in line with destiny and you don't really love me at all."

What the ever living fuck was wrong with this girl? How did she take a simple concept, like having a mate, and turn it into some kind of life sentence that we had no say in? Seriously, she had to be mentally ill. When that Volturi fucker called, I was going to ask him if they had any vampire psychologists. She really fucking needed more help than I could clearly give her.

"Bella," I would try, really try, to be fucking patient with her and walk her through my goddamn feelings she apparently thought I had no fucking free will when it came to loving her. Then again, maybe I didn't. If it were up to me, I certainly wouldn't have fallen. Life would have been much fucking easier if I didn't love her.

_Like hell it would. You'd be bored out of your skull and continue fucking and killing your way through life. You'd tell yourself you were content, even happy, but you wouldn't feel one hundredth of the happiness you feel when you even look at that girl. _Stupid inner motherfucker was actually right but that didn't mean I had to like it or admit it. I could wish for simpler times even if I didn't really want them.

"Bella," I tried again as she watched me impatiently, her lips pursed. God I wanted to kiss her and then eat her alive. "You love your mate, so I don't understand what the problem is. If we are mated, I still love you. If we aren't mated, I love you anyway. What difference does it make?" Ha, I managed to get through that without using the word fucking once. She should be proud, but of course, she probably wouldn't fucking notice.

"But maybe you wouldn't love me if I weren't your mate. You could have any girl in the world, so why the hell would I be the one you loved?"

Oh Jesus Christ, this again? Really? More of her damn insecurities coming back to bite me on the ass. Maybe I would kill that motherfucker, Mike Newton, for all the damn trouble he was causing me in my own personal life. Asshole.

"So that's what this is about? You don't think you're worthy of my love? Or is it any love? What the fuck, Bella?" Oops, so much for not cursing. Well she couldn't reach me and I could outrun her if she tried.

"Of course I think I'm worthy of love. I just don't know why you love me; if you didn't have any choice in the matter, if you only love me because I'm your mate or if you actually love me love me!" She was back to the yelling and gesturing and I felt venom welling in my mouth at the sight of her even though at the same time I wanted to shake her and scream at her for being such a fucking idiot.

"Well, what the fuck more do I have to do, Bella? What the fuck kind of statement is that? If I love you, love you? What the fuck does that even mean?"

"You know what it means! It makes perfect sense!" She crossed her arms and her breasts went higher and I had to swallow venom again. Damn her for being so fucking delectable, especially when she was pissing me the fuck off.

_This is fantastic, just so you know. _Jesus, there you fucking are. Can you decipher what the fuck she's saying to me? I could use a little help here. Don't you think it's time you fucking contribute? _Oh hell, I sort of get it but she doesn't make a lot of sense. _Like that's fucking new. _She's apparently worrying that you only love her because you have to because she's your mate. Not that you love her because you love her and all her weird little quirks and stuff. _Fucking thank you! God, she's weird. How the hell could she not know the answer to that question?

"Okay, let me get this straight. You think the only reason I love you is because we're mates and if we weren't, I wouldn't love you?"

"Obviously!" She threw up her hands and genuflected like she was thankful that I finally fucking got a clue. Like I was the fucking problem here. She was the one who was absolutely insane.

"So, how exactly am I supposed to prove to you that I love you? Watching your fucking racist vampire TV shows with minimal complaint didn't clue you in?" _Minimal? _Well, it's a relative fucking term. Shut the fuck up. "Going and getting you blood when you could have easily killed a perfectly good human isn't enough? Taking a girl out on a date at your behest means nothing? Moving to fucking Jersey and getting you a cow and tasting animal blood isn't proof enough? How the fuck am I supposed to prove it? Everything I've fucking done has been because I fucking love you. What more do you fucking need?"

"You did all those things because you wanted to get me into bed, or at least that's what I thought. I'm not a moron, Edward." Oh, you're fucking not? Because you sure as fuck sound like one right about now. "I know you care about me, but how much of it is because of me and how much of it is because of this whole mate business?"

"How the hell can I quantify it?" I was yelling now but I couldn't help myself. "I've never had a mate. I've never been in fucking love. I don't know how they do or don't compare. I know that I love you. I know I love you because you make me crazy but I don't even want to try to walk away from you. I know I love you because you're smart and sarcastic and full of life. I love you when you're lying in my arms, content as can be, and when you're spitting fire and swinging at me. I love you when you're irrational, like right now, and when you make perfect sense, which is rare but still happens on occasion. What else can I do to prove it to you?"

The fight left her and she collapsed onto the couch. "I don't know. I want to believe you, really I do. I just don't know how to let myself do that. The thought that there's some higher power or fate or whatever guiding us bothers me." I hopped back over the couch and she burrowed into my arms. I was finally fucking holding her but it wasn't at all like I imagined I would be after I'd made my declaration. Go fucking figure. I'd never understand her, not even if I had a million years to figure her out.

Still, if I thought about it enough, she obviously had the feelings too. She talked about fate guiding us…maybe she just didn't trust what she felt for me was love either. But it was there or else she wouldn't fucking care so much about what was real and what wasn't. I could be patient, even if it wasn't my strong suit. I would be patient, for her, because she deserved it.

"I don't know why you'd even want to love me. I'm a fucking head case," she muttered against my shirt. I chuckled and tilted her face up to mine and kissed her.

"That's one of the main reasons. I never know what the fuck you'll say or do. This certainly didn't go the way I imagined the billion times I pictured it in my head." Her face fell and I kissed her again until I felt her lips curve under mine, then pulled away and grinned at her. "Maybe you're my mate and maybe you're not. It doesn't matter. I'd love you anyway because you're you. In time, perhaps you'll grow to see that." Her eyes were shining with emotion and if I let myself, I could believe it was love. Maybe it was and she just wasn't ready.

_That's it? After all that you're just going to wait for her to love you? What the fuck is wrong with you? Where's the cocky bastard that I know and love? MAKE her love you. MAKE her say it. I need to hear it! _This isn't about you, fuckhead. This is about me and her and what she needs. I love her; I know I do, because I can put her needs ahead of mine. If she needs time to recognize that she loves me, I'll give it to her.

_Well that's a fucking disappointment. _Too bad for you, dickwad. You're not a part of this, which you've made abundantly clear by being conspicuously absent when I needed you most. I'll handle this, just like I've handled everything else. All you do is talk. I'm the one doing all the changing and compromising. Fuck off.

Bella put her head on my shoulder and I held her for a little while, wondering as usual what the fuck was going on in her crazy head but not pushing because I'd just made myself and the douche in my head a promise that I was going to be fucking mature about this situation. I could afford to be because I fucking knew, now more than ever, that she belonged with me.

I edged away and Bella glanced up at me, fear and panic in her eyes. What, did she fucking think I was going to leave because she couldn't accept my love? Of course she did, freak that she was. "I forgot; I got you something."

She smiled nervously and sat up. "You did? What is it?"

I chuckled and got to my feet. "You'll see." I ran out to the car and got the boxes I'd picked up at the post office. I carried them inside and Bella nearly pounced on them and me, acting like a little kid on Christmas morning.

"I smell books! Ink, paper, glue and leather!" I laughed and thrust that box at her. She tore into it and started exclaiming over the hardcover first editions I'd gotten. Shakespeare, Hemingway, Faulkner, Bronte…all the fucking classics she so liked to read.

"Edward, this is incredible!" She threw herself into my arms, hugging the life out of me while I laughed and hugged her back. I'd have to remember the next time I fucking pissed her off to give her a book. Who needed diamonds? Certainly not my Bella. Yet another thing that made her fucking amazing.

"I'm glad you like it, baby, but that's not all I got."

"You give me too much and I don't give you anything." The excitement died out of her face, of course, because she was having yet another fucking mood swing. Jesus, I'd also need to ask if the Volturi had any pills or some fucking thing that cured moodiness.

"You're all I'll ever need." She smiled sadly at my words and I felt like a fucking asshole, but I wasn't saying it to pressure her. I honestly fucking meant it. She was the best thing in my life and she always would be. Nothing else could compare. I had everything I'd ever wanted now that I had her. Hell I had something I never knew or at least admitted that I wanted now.

"You're too good to me," she said softly, tracing the brown leather cover of _A Farewell To Arms._

"I can take them back if you think it's too much." She clutched the book to her chest protectively and I laughed at the mutinous expression on her face. "I didn't think so. Now open the other package."

That was all the encouragement she needed and she tore into it with gusto. An expression of confusion crossed her face and she lifted the phone out of the box. "A phone? Edward, I can't call anybody. Why would you give me a phone?" Her voice sounded sad, and I knew she was thinking of her father and maybe her useless mother and her friends.

"You can call whoever you want from that phone. It's untraceable."

Her head whipped up and she pinned me with her crimson eyes. "Really? I can call my father?" I plucked the phone out of her hands, afraid that she was going to crush it in her fucking excitement. She was incredibly beautiful, her eyes shining with hope.

"Yes, you can call your father. Of course, you're going to need to refrain from telling him where you are and who you're with. It'd be best if you kept up the ruse that you've run off with Jacob," I spat the name in disgust. How I fucking hated that anyone thought she cared for that sorry loser, but it was for the best.

She nodded obediently, her fingers flexing as she sort of half reached for the phone, her eyes on it as if afraid it would vanish before she got the chance to speak to her father. "I mean it, Bella. Don't tell your dad where you are. Just imply that you're on some island and you're happy with the stalker freak and tell him you just need time to be with your man before you return to reality and to him."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Edward, I know what I need to do. I swear, I won't mention vampires or blood or New Jersey or you. I just want a chance to tell him that I'm okay. It's all I've wanted since I woke up."

Those words speared through me. _All she wanted._ Well, that figured and if that was all she wanted, she could have it now. It was the very least I could give her. I handed her the phone and she cradled it like a fucking newborn baby, which was cute as hell.

"I'll take the phone away if you start to say something that I don't like, Bella." I hated saying it but she had to know, if she decided to tell him the truth, I'd end it and we'd run. Charlie Swan coming to find her wasn't an option and my losing her wasn't either.

"I know. I can handle it." She sat back on the couch and looked at me, patting the cushion next to her. I sat beside her and she kissed me softly. "Thank you, Edward. Letting me give my dad some peace of mind…well, that's one of the greatest gifts you could ever give me."

I gave her a half-hearted smile. "Even better than the books?"

She laughed and kissed me again. "Even better."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Give him a call."

She grinned at me and dialed the number quickly, her fingers flying over the digits. She raised the phone to her left ear and took my hand in her free right one. I really fucking loved that she was still touching me when she called the man that I'd taken her away from forever. See, she did love me, she just didn't know how to say it yet.

"Chief Swan," a gruff voice came through the phone. I nearly laughed at his greeting but Bella probably wouldn't fucking appreciate it.

"Daddy, it's me." Bella bit her lip nervously. It was really fucking cute how she looked like a child waiting to be chastised even though the man was three thousand miles or so away.

"Bella! Where are you? Are you alright? Has he hurt you? I swear to God, I will skin that boy alive if he's harmed a hair on your head. Where are you? I'll be right there." His voice had gone up several octaves and he sounded frantic at the sound of her voice.

"Dad, calm down, I'm fine. Better than fine. I'm great actually."

"Isabella Swan, don't you tell me you're fine! I've been out of my mind for weeks and you're just fine? Where the hell are you?" The gruffness was back and there was anger in his tone now. Fucking parents, nothing was ever good enough.

"I can't tell you where I am, Dad. I don't need you coming and trying to take me back home." She shifted uncomfortably next to me.

"Damn right you're coming home. And I'm putting an industrial lock on your bedroom door if I have to. How could you do that to me, Bella?" His voice broke as he said her name and she bit her lip and glanced at me. I tried to give her a reassuring look but what the fuck did I know about talking to parents? I hadn't done that in over 85 years and we hadn't talked all that much back then either.

"No, I'm not, Daddy. I'm sorry you were worried. I never meant to scare you. I left a note but obviously it got lost." Oh, good one, baby. I nodded at her in approval.

"Note? There was no note, Bella. I went over that room with a fine-toothed comb. Don't you lie to me."

"I'm not lying, Dad. There was a note. Maybe Jacob took it, because he wanted me to himself for awhile." I bit back a growl at the mention of his name. It was for the best, I knew it was. Fucking douche.

"Why don't you ask him?" Charlie's voice was seething with anger now and Bella winced. I ran my thumb over the back of her hand and she gave me a shaky smile.

"He left to give me a little privacy." Her eyes were on mine. "He's been wonderful to me, Dad. I know you don't approve of me leaving the way I did and I wish I could have said goodbye, but trust me when I tell you that I'm happier than I've ever been." I hoped fervently that was fucking true.

"Bella, you're a child. You don't know a thing about relationships. You got swept away in the moment, thinking like you were in one those stories you always had your nose buried in. This is real life. You have school and family and responsibilities. You can't go running off to God knows where and give everything up for some boy you won't even like a month from now." He was in full-on parental lecture form now and I didn't resist rolling my eyes. Bella glared at me but her lips were twitching and I knew she was trying not to smile.

"I do know about relationships and I know where I belong. I'm with the person I'm meant to spend the rest of my life with. You know me, Dad, and you know that I know my heart. I know that I didn't go about this the right way, and I'm sorry for that. But I wanted you to know that I'm sorry I scared you, and I had no idea that you wouldn't know that I was okay." I really hoped she meant what she was saying and wasn't just posturing for her fucking father.

"Bella, just tell me where you are. I swear I won't come and take you away. I'll come and we can sit down and have a mature conversation. I can see if this boy is really right for you and we can go from there. I'm trying to be reasonable here, which is more than you deserve after what you've put me through." His voice was still angry but also tired and resigned. I knew, without hearing him give the order, that he'd tried to trace the phone by now and failed.

"No, Dad. I'm just calling because I missed you and I love you and I wanted you to know that I'm okay. I'm very sorry to have upset you and…"

"Upset me? I thought my daughter was dead, Bella! That's a little worse than upsetting me!" he shouted. She huddled closer to me and I squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her.

"I know, Dad and I'm so, so sorry. I can't tell you enough how sorry I am. I'll never forgive myself for causing you a moment's pain. I never wanted that."

"How could you be so damn irresponsible, Bella? Why did it take you so long to call me? I don't even feel like you're my daughter. My daughter would never scare me like that. I've been terrified!" He was still shouting and I had to stifle the strong urge to take the fucking phone away from Bella and yell at him for upsetting her, which he was clearly doing. She was trembling against me and shrinking down, like she was becoming a little girl again.

"I thought you knew who I was with and that I was okay, Dad. I was going to call sooner but I was scared." Her voice was impossibly sad.

He chuckled humorlessly. "You don't know scared, Bella. You don't know what it is to think you've lost your only child. I don't know how you could do this to me and why you won't let me come and see with my own two eyes that you're alright." Damn, the man could lay on the fucking guilt trip. I felt rage boiling in me, but I was angry at myself instead of him. Well, mostly at myself. It was my fault that Bella hadn't called him, it was me that took her from him and she was the one getting yelled at and being made to feel like a bad child. I moved away from her walked to the window and looked out at the land, trying to control the guilt I was feeling. I could feel her eyes burning a hole in my back and knew I needed to go back to her.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I really just wanted to let you know that I was okay and that I'm happy." Something in her voice made me turn around and she took a deep breath and sat up, straightening her shoulders. "I've finally found the place that I belong. I'm sorry that you don't approve, but I know what's right for me. You always told me that I was mature beyond my years and maybe you don't still believe that after what I've done, but I haven't changed, Dad. I know what's right for me and he is." Her eyes were on mine as she said that and I gave her a real smile this time.

"Bella, you don't know what you want. You're twenty-two years old. You have plenty of time left to find the guy you want to spend the rest of your life with." He sounded desperate now, like he knew his time with her was almost up. I wanted to laugh at just how much time she had left to find her Mr. Right. Infinite amounts, Chief Swan. It doesn't matter, she's found me and I'm not letting her go. I returned to her side and took her hand again, needing to touch her and reaffirm that very fact.

"Dad, I do know what I want and it's him." Her eyes were on mine and her hand held mine almost painfully tight. "He loves me." Her voice rang with conviction and her eyes burned with it. Holy fuck, she believed me now, I could see it on her face and hear it in her voice. I wanted to ask her why but I wasn't going to look that gift horse in the mouth. Finally. "And I love him, too, so much more than I ever thought possible." She continued to look at me and I knew every word she spoke was the truth.

She loves me! She fucking loves me! She has all along but she was too damn afraid of it to tell me back. I didn't know why she chose now, but I didn't fucking care. She loves me. Nothing in this world matters more than that fact. Inner asshole was screaming in glee but I tuned him the fuck out. This was our moment, not his.

"Bella, stop being ridiculous. You need to come home. Bring him with you. We'll talk about all this." Her father's voice was demanding and panicked now.

"No, Daddy, I can't come home now. Maybe sometime soon, but not right now. Right now I need to spend time with the man I love. I've got to go, but I'll talk to you soon. I love you and I'm very sorry that I worried you. I'll call you soon, I promise." She hung up on his sputtering and looked at me.

"You meant it." I didn't ask a question, because I wasn't questioning her but she answered me anyway.

"Yes." There was the fucking yes again, only this one was a billion times better than the first one.

I leaned forward to kiss her but she put her hand on my chest. "I do love you, Edward. I'm sorry I freaked out about the mated thing but I really want this to be real." Her voice was quiet, but not unsure. My unbeating heart felt like it was going to burst out of my fucking chest and do a conga around the living room. I'd never been happier in all of my existence.

"It is real, baby. I love you and you love me. Nothing could be more real than that." She smiled and pulled me to her then; kissing me as hungrily I was her. Bella loved me. Victoria, the Volturi, her father…nothing else mattered. All that mattered was that the girl I loved-loved me right back. I felt like I could take on the world as long as I had her by my side. Love…who the fuck would have guessed?

* * *

**A/N Well, we all would have guessed but Smugs is a little slow sometimes and Bella's a wild card, so we couldn't be completely sure! Did it live up to expectations? I hope so!**

**I kind of hate to say this but we're getting close to the end of this story. I don't have an exact number of chapters but I'd say only 4 or so more remain. Our lovevamps are on the same page, finally, and we have a little to clear up but that's almost all she wrote. I know, I don't want to let go of these two either, believe me, but the story is wrapping up.**

**I have another outtake posting this week, chapter 13 from BPOV, the car and the bedroom scene. So you can get into her head a little, though maybe you did in this chapter. I hope so! That will post under Bite of Darkness, in my profile. Can't wait to hear what you think.**


	23. Chapter 21

Taste of Innocence Chapter 21

_She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah. She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah. _Oh fuck, you're singing now? I thought you'd go the fuck away now that I said it and she said it back. What fucking purpose do you have here now, other than to taunt me? _Like I need a purpose? Please. You know you love me, just like Bella loves youuuuuuu, yeah, yeah, yeah._

I do not love you. I will never fucking love you. Well, maybe I will love you if you leave, but only briefly. I will, however, have a huge fucking celebration over the fact that you're gone. So go ahead and leave now and Bella and I will start the party. Her hands were moving over my back, plucking impatiently at my shirt. I had her pinned to the sofa and my lips were hard on hers. I was very fucking anxious to get to the naked portion of our celebration now that we'd both said the words.

_You would miss me if I left. Plus, what kind of fucking heathen are you? Are you really going to fuck your woman on the couch like some wild animal right after she declares her love for you? Where's all the romance you failed to give her when you yelled that you loved her?_

Excuse me, douchetard, but weren't you the one screaming like a bitch when I finally said it? What the fuck does it matter if I fuck her on the couch or not? She's here, I'm here, her sexy little body is pressed up against me and Edward Junior is raring to fucking go. What more does she need? I gave her the words and she doesn't seem too fucking worked up about where we are either. She's the one trying to undress me, not the other way around, jackass.

_That's because her hormones are getting in the way of her common sense. Do you not know your woman at all? She's a romantic, numbnuts. She reads those classic love stories and moons over those brooding vampires in her TV shows and whatnot. Would that Angel guy just fuck Buffy on the couch right after telling her he loved her?_

Oh, fuck no; you did not just throw that motherfucker in my face right now. You know how I fucking feel about that douchenozzle. _Hey, it's not my fault he's way more romantic than you are. _Excuse me, but when the fuck did you become Angel's number one fan? _I watched the show along with you and Bella and it's actually quite good. _You are so fucking gay that I can't even believe it. How in the fuck could someone that purports to be my conscience or whatever the fuck you think you are be so god damn gay?

_Maybe you need to look deep inside yourself to find that answer. You must have secretly wanted some guy love at some…_You better shut the fuck up right now. Don't be talking about guy love when I've got Bella underneath me, making those lovely little moaning noises and grinding against me, you jackass. It's quite clear what team I fucking play for, thank you very much. Why don't you go back to pottery class and let me enjoy the company of my woman?

_Methinks you doth protest too much. _Shakespeare? Jesus, what the fuck is wrong with you? What do I have to do to make you go the fuck away?

_Simple. Give the lady a little romance. Save the fucking for another day. Show her that you love her. _Hello, fucknugget, that's what I'm trying to do right now. _No, what you're trying to do is fuck her into oblivion. That's fine and dandy for any other day, but not today. Not when she's given you her heart. You need to reward her with some fucking romance, if you think you can manage that. If not, I could always see about getting Demetri to come and rescue Bella from you. Those Greek boys do know how to romance a girl. _

And you'd know all about that, wouldn't you, homo headcase? I told you before not to throw that motherfucker at me again and here you are doing it anyway. I will end you. _Yeah, so you keep saying but here I am, guiding you yet again. You're very welcome, by the way. _

I didn't thank you, nor am I going to. _That's fine. I didn't expect an idiot like you to actually bestow a word of thanks even though it's due to me that Bella loves you. If I hadn't improved you significantly, she wouldn't have looked at you twice since you changed her. _

Like fucking hell she wouldn't have. She couldn't help herself. She would want me regardless of your help. _You keep telling yourself that, sister. We both know the real truth. _I am not your fucking sister. _Well, stop acting like one and be a man and give the girl some proper loving. _Fucking Christ! If I do it, will you leave me the hell alone? I would like to actually enjoy this moment and you're making it awfully hard to concentrate on my girl.

_Hey, you're the one that argued with me. If you'd have just done my bidding from the start, I'd be perfectly quiet right now, sitting back and enjoying the show. You two are quite entertaining. I'd rather observe than have to correct you constantly but it's the burden that I bear in order to better you. You're welcome again._

Jesus fucking Christ, just go. I'll give her the romance, okay? _That's more like it! Don't forget to carry her up the stairs; she'll totally swoon over that! _Did you seriously just use the fucking word "swoon?" You could not be anymore gay if you were sucking some guy's dick right now, you know that? _Keep on insulting me and I won't go away. I'll stay in your head and talk you through every moment with your precious love. Maybe I'll even sing sappy songs while you attempt to woo her._

Woo? Holy shit, you're truly insane. Thank you so very much for driving me to madness. _You're welcome! Was it so hard to thank me? _You know damn well that I wasn't thanking you, assmunch. _It's the closest I'll get from you so I'm taking it and running. Ta ta! I'll only return if you start to fail at being a gentleman. Who am I kidding? That'll happen. I'll be right here when you need me._

"Edward? Is something wrong?" Bella had pulled her lips from mine and was staring at me intently. See? That fucker made me fuck up what should have been an awesome moment with my girl. He needed to die.

"No, baby, nothing's wrong at all. I just…" Romance. I could fucking do romance. "I just want to show you how much I love you."

Her face lit up and I had to give dipshit a little credit. Just the mention of showing her my love made her look like she'd won the damn lottery. "I can feel how much you love me," she replied, reaching between us to cup Edward Junior through my jeans. My eyes fucking rolled back in my head and I let out a low growl of pleasure. I needed to take her, now. _Don't you make me come over there!_

Fucking cockblocking nancyboy. I'm not going to do it. Shut the fuck up. "That's now how much I love you, Bella. That's how much I want you." She let out a little giggle and started sucking on my neck again. Holy fuck that felt good. It was fucking incredible to have her initiating the contact between us now. My shy girl had bloomed into a sexually confident woman. My sexually confident woman. It was so fucking hot.

_You light up my life. You give me hope, to carry on. You light up my days and fill my nights with soooooong. _Holy fucking hell, shut the ever living fuck up. _Every time you think about venturing away from the romance I'm going to sing you a new, crappy love song. Don't make me play hardball!_

Hardball, ha! I had hard fucking balls right about now and a hard as hell cock ready to go. Fuck. Fine! Romance it is! I pushed myself off Bella and stood next to the couch, looking down at her all sexy and rumpled and ready to fuck. Her arms reached out to me, like she wanted me to lie back down and take her. I was more than fucking ready to fuck the hell out of her too. We should be rolling around on the floor completely naked like I'd imagined after I declared myself to her but no, she'd had to complicate shit first and now my own fucking head had to top it. Such utter bullshit.

"Where are you going?" she whined. My Bella actually whined because she wanted me to fuck her so bad. How the hell was this romantic? Putting her off when she wanted me just as badly as I wanted her. Screw you, dickhead, I'll do what I want. I bent down and started kissing her again while my fingers moved to undo her pants. Fuck this waiting shit. I had a girl to pleasure.

_And I eeeee I, will always love youuuuuuu. _ Holy shit! Who knew that fucker could work a high falsetto? I immediately stopped unzipping Bella's jeans and he went blessedly quiet. Thank fuck. Alright, we'd do it his way. I wasn't going to risk whatever the fuck else he had in his repertoire. Romance. I could do fucking romance.

Bella's lower lip was starting to poke out, which was absolutely fucking adorable and I wanted to bite it. I leaned forward and did just that and she hissed and put her arms around me and started yanking on my hair impatiently. Yeah, she really wanted to fuck. I'd just have to distract her by being a romantic fucking tool.

I reached underneath her legs and lifted her from the couch, cradling her in my arms. She broke our kiss and started at me in confusion. "Are we going somewhere?"

"I thought maybe we should go upstairs, you know? Kind of, I don't know, take things slow and celebrate our love or whatever." God, I could not feel like a bigger fucking douche if I tried. Those were some fucking words I'd never uttered in my entire life and I hoped to God I didn't ever have to say them again.

"You're going to carry me to bed?" she asked. There was something in her voice that I couldn't quite identify.

"Um, yes?" Was that fucking okay? Wasn't that what all those fucking guys in the movies did with their girls? I hated this crap.

"Like Rhett and Scarlett?" Her voice fucking cracked and I could now see the excitement in her eyes. Holy fuck, dipshit was right, this shit was gold.

"Yes."

The brightest smile I'd ever seen stole over her face. She was so fucking beautiful it took my breath away. Good thing I didn't need to breathe. She leaned up and pressed her lips to mine again. This time there was more patience in her kiss and her eyes but the emotion was all still there. Desire, happiness…love. Fuck, I hoped she always looked at me that way. I knew I would always look at her the same.

She rested her head on my left shoulder as I made my way to the winding staircase. I could have us up there in two seconds flat but I figured that would ruin some of the fucking romance of the moment so I walked at a human pace. Slower than that, actually, because Bella was cuddled into me and her left hand was toying with the buttons of my shirt as I made my way up the stairs.

"I really wanted you to carry me up these stairs," she murmured, kissing my neck.

"All you had to do was ask. Baby, I'll give you anything you want, you know that. I can't read your mind, so you have to tell me. Sometimes I'm an idiot and I fuck things up and don't think about shit like this. But I want to give it to you because you deserve it."

She giggled and nipped at my chin. "Sometimes you're an idiot?"

I gave her a mock growl. "Are you really going to insult me now while I'm being a fucking gentleman?"

Bella laughed harder and wrapped both her arms around my neck. "No, I'd never want to ruin you being a fucking gentleman."

Her shoulders shook with her laughter. "I guess I shouldn't use fucking when I'm trying to be romantic." I waited to see if doucheboy was going to break out into song again but apparently I hadn't violated his fucking terms yet.

Bella tilted her head and smiled up at me. "I'd rather you be a fucking gentleman than a regular gentleman. They're boring. You're not."

I grinned and kissed her as we reached the top of the stairs. My girl had some fucking taste, not that I was surprised or anything. She chose me to fall in love with, after all. I carried her into the bedroom and started to make my way over to the bed.

_When I fall in loooooove, it will be forever. Or I'll never fall in love. In a restless world, like this is. Love is ended before it's beguuuuuuun. _What the ever living fuck is your problem now? I carried her up the stairs. I'm going to lay her on the bed and make love to her like you fucking asked. What the fuck?

_Romance, you retarded monkey. Candles and flower petals and bubble bath and pampering. Show her your love. _I can show her my love with my hands, tongue and cock and I promise you she won't have one complaint about it.

_And can you feel the love tonight? It is where we areeeeee. _Holy fucking shit, fine! I'll do the bubble bath crap but I don't have any fucking flowers and I'm not leaving her to go get some. That wouldn't be fucking romantic either, now would it? _Humph. I suppose not. You can get her some next time you venture out. _

Did you just fucking sniff at me? I swear to fucking God I'm going to..."Edward?" Bella's hand was on my cheek and she was looking confused and of course she fucking was because I was just standing there like a dumbass instead of attending to her needs thanks to the fucking jackass in my head. Really fucking romantic, you asshole. You're taking me away from her instead of helping me. You just stay silent and sing your ridiculous songs in your own fucking head for awhile.

"Sorry, baby, I was just thinking that maybe we could take a bath?" I sounded like a fucking idiot but Bella grinned and nodded so I swept her into the bathroom and sat her down on the marble edge of the tub while I started the water and poured a fuckload of bubble bath under the hot water.

I pulled her up and started kissing her softly while I undid her jeans and started lifting her shirt. I broke our kiss to pull it over her head and toss it aside. She was wearing a black satin bra underneath and I ran my fingers along the edge of the satin, marveling at the fact that her skin was nearly as soft as the material. I reached behind her and she watched me with those patient red eyes while I slid the straps down her arms and threw the bra on top of her discarded shirt.

"You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." It was nothing more than the simple truth but of course, Bella being Bella, she shook her fucking head in automatic denial of my words. I took her chin between both my hands and made her look into my eyes as I said it again. "I mean it, Bella. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on. You will always be the most stunning woman in the world to me. Please, never doubt that."

She bit her lip but her eyes warmed and she nodded. "Okay. I believe that you think that."

I laughed; because of fucking course she wasn't going to allow that it was the truth. Still, as long as she was sure of my feelings for her, I didn't give a damn. I had eternity to make her see the simple fucking truth. I kissed her again as I unzipped her jeans and started to slide them down her hips. My lips moved down her body, kissing her neck, her breasts and her stomach as I got to my knees in front of her and lifted each leg to get her pants off.

Fuck. She was in nothing but some black satin panties which were right in front of my face and I was salivating like a dog in fucking heat at the sight of her. I leaned forward and kissed each of her hip bones as I hooked my thumbs in her panties and slid them down her legs. She put her hands on my shoulders and stepped closer to me so I took that as the invitation it fucking was and kissed her clit. She gasped and tightened her grip on my shoulders as I started licking her softly.

_Ahem? Do I need to break into song again? I've got You Are So Beautiful all queued up. _I dare you to find a girl on this fucking planet that doesn't find this moment romantic, jackass, and then you can sing your douchy self to death. Oooh, there's an idea; could you possibly kill yourself since I can't do it?_ No, the world would miss me too much. But, I will allow this since she so clearly seems to want it._

Ha, she did too. She was moaning and tugging on the ends of my hair and moving her pussy against my face. I knew my Bella and I knew it wouldn't be long so I bit her clit gently before moving my tongue at full speed against her. She screamed and started bucking wildly against my face, and I held on to her ass so she wouldn't fall over. Fuck, she was so fucking sexy when she came. I licked her softly until she came down and then gave her one more kiss before standing and pulling her into my arms.

She wrapped her arms around my waist limply and rested her head on my chest. Ha…I was such a fucking sex god, I could sap all of my woman's strength with just one orgasm. I really should be studied or some shit, but then, the women of the world would be ruined for all other men. It was really quite a shame though. Everyone should know of my prowess.

_Insufferable bastard! You're supposed to be romancing your girl, not patting yourself on the fucking back for making her come. It's not that hard. I could probably…_try it and I will get that spike. _Sure you will. Now stop with the attitude and get on with the loving! I've been waiting for ages!_

You've been waiting? And you say I'm insufferable? Fucker. Still he was right about one thing. It was time to get Bella into the water. The tub was ready to overflow so I turned off the water and took Bella's hand and helped her step down into the swirling bubbles. She lay back with a sigh and I was amused by how content she appeared but a bit annoyed that the bubbles blocked my view of her delectable body.

"Are you joining me?" Did I look like a fucking moron? Don't answer that, dickwad, you just shut the fuck up.

"Of course, baby." I pulled my shirt over my head and Bella's eyes flickered in reaction. I smirked at her and undid my jeans and pushed them off. Her eyes ran up and down my body so I stood and let her enjoy her fill. She was smiling at me and lifted a bubble-covered hand out of the water to beckon me toward her. I got into the huge tub and moved over next to her before pulling her into my arms so her back rested against my chest. She relaxed into me and rested her head on my shoulder as I lazily stroked my hands down her body.

"This is nice."

It actually was. "Yeah, it is."

She tilted her head to glance at me out of the corner of her eye. "It's not very much like you."

I chuckled and kissed her neck, since it was right fucking there and everything. "Maybe not, but I can try new shit now and then." I'd tried fucking animal blood for her, after all, there wasn't a lot I wouldn't do if she asked.

Bella squirmed in my arms and turned around to face me, wrapping her legs around my waist and pressing her pussy against Edward Junior. This was even fucking better. I could see the tops of her breasts between the bubbles now and I felt compelled to touch them, since they were right fucking there and all.

"You've tried a lot of new shit since I came into your life, haven't you?" I shrugged and continued to run my thumbs over her nipples, which were pebbling nicely under my touch. She knew the answer to that question anyway.

"Edward?"

I looked into her ruby eyes and answered her this time. "Yeah, I guess I have. It hasn't been all bad." That was a fucking understatement but it made her giggle as I'd hoped it would.

"I just want you to know that I appreciate it. I know I haven't made it easy on you and half the time I've been yelling at you, I even knew how crazy I was being but I just couldn't stop myself. You bring out the worst in me I guess." I frowned at that and looked down into the water but this time she reached out and tilted my face up. "And you bring out the best in me, too."

Well that was more fucking like it. "I do?"

She laughed and kissed me. "Yes. I'm stronger now than I've ever been, and I mean beyond the physical. The old me never would have stood up for myself the way I do with you." I didn't know if that was necessarily a good thing, seeing as she fucking beat on me whenever she was standing up for herself, but if she thought so then I was willing to overlook it.

"You certainly don't have a problem in that department," I told her wryly, which caused her to throw her head back in laughter which had the delightful effect of lifting her breasts out of the water. I leaned forward and sucked on her perky right nipple as her laughter turned into a moan and she ran her wet fingers through my hair.

I sucked and nibbled for a couple minutes before repeating the process on the left breast while she continued to play with my hair and rub her pussy against me. I didn't know how fucking long I was going to be able to handle that without having to fuck her but I was determined that the emo douche was not going to be singing me any more fucking songs.

Eventually I released her nipple and kissed my way back up her neck. "Edward?"

"Hmmm?" Seriously, why she so fucking chatty? Couldn't we just make out a little before I took her to bed and finally took her like I was dying to fucking do?

"You hunted while you were in the city, didn't you?"

Fucking hell. She said she wasn't going to give me shit anymore and she was going to start in on me while I was giving her fucking romance like douchetard told me to do? That fucking figured. He continued to steer me wrong. If I'd fucked her like I wanted to, I could have driven all thought out of her crazy, beautiful head.

"Yes, I did."

She stared at me for a few fucking moments and again I had to wonder what the fuck was going on inside her brain. "What?"

"How was it?"

Really? She was interested in human blood all of a fucking sudden? What was wrong with this girl? "It was fine, I guess. Nothing major." Well except for the fact that I saw your fucking disapproving face while I was drinking.

"Okay." What the fuck? Her face was perfectly serene and she was actually fucking smiling a little bit. She was do damn confusing.

"You don't care that I killed a guy?"

She tilted her head and then shook it. "No, not really."

"Not really? Since fucking when?" She was fucking with my head, I knew it. She wanted to get me to admit to being unsure about killing humans and then she'd go in for her own kill and get me to agree not to anymore.

"I don't know. It just doesn't bother me that much anymore, so long as you really do kill people who are threats to innocent people."

"This is a trick, isn't it? You want me to admit that human blood doesn't hold quite the same appeal as it did before you came along and fucked up my palette."

Her eyes narrowed and started spitting ruby sparks at me. Fuck, she was hot when she got mad. "What do you mean; it doesn't hold the same appeal? Did something happen in the city?"

Fuck, really stepped in it there didn't you, Cullen? _Yes, you did, and you're also ruining the whole romantic time by being a jackass, as usual. _What the fuck am I supposed to do here? _Be honest with her, dipshit. Tell her about the blood not being quite the same. _That's only because the deer blood fucked me up. _Maybe it is and maybe it isn't. She's at least being open to the possibility of embracing your dark side. Shouldn't you be just as accommodating to her?_

Fucking pain in the ass. Fine. "When I was draining the guy, who was about to stab a girl, thank you very much…" Bella winced and I stroked her hair. It wasn't her fault…or maybe it was. I didn't fucking know anymore. "I saw your face while I was feeding and it didn't taste exactly right. Maybe the deer blood poisoned me."

Bella's lips twitched and I toyed with dunking her under the water. It would start dickhead singing again, though, no doubt, and he likely wouldn't stop since she'd probably cockblock me for it. I was so fucked…at least I wanted to be. The things a guy does to get fucking laid.

"So, what you're saying is, I got into your head and you didn't enjoy the blood like you used to." She didn't have to sound and look so fucking smug about it.

"Maybe. I don't know. I was in a weird mood and I just wanted to get home to you. I'd have to try again to be sure."

She pursed her lips and then nodded. "Okay, you do that."

It was a fucking trick. I knew it. "Did you just give me permission to kill someone?"

She rolled her eyes. "As if you want or need my permission to do anything. You do what you want, when you want to." Ha, I do what you fucking tell me to do in order to make you happy so I can fuck you. _MAKE LOVE! _Oh Christ, stop being such a girl.

"I have done a lot of things I didn't want to do. Didn't we just get done establishing that?"

Bella laughed and kissed my nose. It was really fucking cute if I was being honest. "Yes, okay, you do things for me a lot of the time that you don't want to do and I appreciate that. Truly I do. But this time, do for you. If you want to drink human blood, do it. I'm not going to judge you for it. It's clear that I'm the strange one here, not you." She looked a little sad about that but seemed to shake it off to smile at me.

"I'll think about it. Right now, with Victoria on the loose and possibly heading this way, I won't be going anywhere."

Bella's smile grew wider. "You're not going to leave me?"

"I'm never going to leave you, baby." Jesus, did she still not believe me? "I love you, remember? Those aren't just words, Bella. That's forever." _Forever may not be long enough, forever may not be long enough, forever may not be long enough for this looooveeee. _Seriously, what the fuck did I do now?

_Oh, nothing! I just thought it was fitting for the moment. Very romantic! You may not be as hopeless as I thought. _Thanks so fucking much. _But seriously, how perfect are these lyrics for you two? I could squee! The world is never enough, and I'm not givin it up. My faith in love is like blood, I'd spill it freely for some. My faith in love is like blood, if flows in everyone. Don't stop to look at the clock, forever won't be long enough! _You are such a fucking girl it's almost unbelievable. Why do I have a chick in my head? _Maybe so you can understand yours? It is perfect, you know? _Fine it is, now go the fuck away.

"Forever," she whispered and then her lips were hungry on mine and her hands were everyfuckingwhere, reaching beneath her and stroking Edward Junior and he was starting to sing his own fucking song. Again with the _"Let's Get It On?"_ Really? Such a fucking one track mind. But his track was better than fucknugget's any day and Bella seemed to be on the same page so it was time to stop with the talking about blood and focus on celebrating the fact that she loved me.

I stood up, with Bella clinging to me, and stepped out of the tub, grabbing a towel and drying her off as best I could as she wasn't letting go, which was absolutely fucking fine with me. I threw the towel on the floor and carried her into the bedroom and lay both of us down on the bedspread. I looked into her eyes, sparkling with happiness and fuck yes, that was love. Now I knew it and she'd been looking at me that way for days and I hadn't been able to convince myself that it was really fucking real. But it was.

"I love you," I told her again and watched her smile grow ever bigger before she drew my lips to hers and kissed me hard. Her legs tightened around me and held me to her in a vice grip that I had no intention of breaking.

Bella pulled away and ran her fingers over my cheekbones, almost like she was trying to memorize me with her fingertips. "I love you, too. You're mine now."

How much did I fucking love it when she got possessive about me? "I've always been yours, baby. Just like you were always mine. It just took me a long time to find you and make it so."

She kissed each of my cheeks and then my nose again before giving me the softest of kisses on my lips. "I'm glad you did." Holy fucking shit, she was glad I did? "I haven't always been and I'm still not happy with the way you did it, but I can't deny that this is where I belong. I am yours, Edward."

_Mine. _That was a beautiful fucking word if ever there was one. My lips were hard on her now and my body was moving against hers without my consciously thinking about it. Her hands were still touching my face, tracing it reverently, lovingly, which caused me to slow the movement of my lips and try to savor her. I had a lifetime to love her but even that didn't feel like long enough in this moment.

Bella unwound her legs from around my waist and opened them to me, rubbing up against Edward Junior slowly, almost tauntingly. Fuck that felt good. I kissed her cheek bones and along the line of her jaw while she moved her head to accommodate me and continued to rub her pussy against my cock. I couldn't take much more of that so I slowly pushed inside her, my eyes on hers as I filled her. She watched me just as intently as I watched her, letting out a little moan when I was all the way inside her.

I held her gaze as we began to move almost painfully fucking slowly, her hips arching forward to meet mine as I moved in and out of her. I mimicked her, bringing my fingers up to trace her face. And when I did, I could fucking feel it, that connection that was always there between us was somehow stronger now. Assmunch had been right. It was better now, like a tangible thread that held us together, or more like an unbreakable steel cable I guess.

I'd been a fucking fool, thinking that I'd made love to her before. I didn't know the meaning of the phrase until now, when our bodies, fuck, our very souls were one. I'd never really stopped to think about shit like souls until Bella came into my life. I assumed I didn't have one but now I knew differently because I could feel it. I should have told her I loved her long before this, but then, maybe she wouldn't have been ready until now anyway. This was right and I wasn't going to fucking second guess it.

I kissed her and took her hands off my face, entwining them with my own, holding her to the bed and being held by her at the same time. It was hard to believe I'd gone a fucking century without ever feeling like this. It was even harder to believe that I was going to have this love for eternity.

_As long as Victwhoria doesn't fuck it up. _I won't let her. I'll die before I let her take Bella away from me. _You truly have come a long way. I'm proud of you. You may just be free of me someday soon, so long as you don't fuck up in the near future. Oh, who am I kidding? We both know you will._

I will not. Why are you here now, reminding me of the past when I'm with Bella, my life and my future? _So romantic! I could cry! _Grab a hanky and leave me the fuck alone. Seriously, I'm trying to…

"Edward?"

Fuck. "Yes, love?"

She brought our joined hands to my face and traced my right cheek again. "Don't leave me."

"Never." My conviction rang in my voice, though I wondered just how many times I'd have to reassure her. Where the fuck would I go and why would I want to go there without her?

She smiled. "I don't mean physically. I mean, wherever it is you go in your head that takes you away from me. Don't leave me, not now."

See what you fucking did, douche? I'm not speaking to you again. Go the fuck away. "I'm sorry, baby. Sometimes I disappear into my head to try to figure out how to make you happy." It was the truth, more or less.

Bella ran her pointer finger over my lips. "You don't need to do that. You make me happy even when you piss me off."

I laughed and nipped at her chin. "Strangely, I understand that since I could say the exact same thing about you."

"I never do anything to piss you off. That's all you." She tried to keep a straight face but the giggles came out and our laughter shook both of us which really did some interesting things to my cock. Bella felt it too because her eyes got black and her hips began to move faster, so I thrust harder and deeper inside her.

"I'll tell you a secret," I grunted as I angled my hips to hit her g spot, which I knew would set her off in a matter of seconds.

"What?" she half screamed as she started to come around me, her hands gripping mine almost painfully tight.

"I love it when you get pissed at me. You're fucking hot when you're yelling at me." I thrust hard inside her and let myself come. She was so fucking tight around me that I just couldn't hold out, nor did I want to.

Bella laughed as I collapsed against her and she kissed me hard. "I promise I'll keep getting pissed at you then."

I nuzzled her neck and nipped at the spot on her neck where I'd made her mine forever. "I promise to keep pissing you off, baby."

"Forever."

She smiled at me and I kissed her again. "Forever."

* * *

**A/N Romance, Smugward style! He did pretty well, I think! What songs do you think IMF should have sung? The last song was from Live and I ran across it looking for songs that contained "Forever." I found it very fitting! I hope you liked it!**


	24. Chapter 22

Taste of Innocence Chapter 22

A fucking week had gone by and there was no sign of Victoria in either New York or New Jersey. The Volturi motherfucker had called to check in three times, ostensibly to see if we'd heard from her, but really to see how Bella was doing. That prick was fascinated by my girl and it was pissing me the fuck off. I might just have to end him and risk the Volturi wrath.

Bella was fucking incredible. Now that she'd finally admitted that she loved me, she was a lot more relaxed and happier, reading happily and humming from time to time. That's not to say that she didn't still lose her temper over tiny little shit once or twice a day. It might have been my fault a time or twenty, because she was so fucking sexy when she got mad and we ended every argument by ripping each other's clothes off and fucking our way through the house. I'd have to fix that living room wall soon, too. There was a hole about three feet long from one particularly hard thrust coupled with Bella's head falling back in pleasure. Totally fucking worth it.

I looked over at Bella, happily ensconced in her window seat, her feet against the ledge and her back against the other wall, reading a book and lost in some fictional world. I wanted to have her again but I'd just fucked her thirty minutes ago and she wasn't interested in another round. Which was really fucking insulting when I thought about it. I ran my hands through my hair and Bella looked over at me, a glint in her eye.

"Do you have a problem?"

Yes, I have a fucking problem. I'm fucking bored and cooped up and the bitch won't show her damn self so that I can fucking relax for five minutes. "No."

She rolled her eyes and got out of the window seat and came to sit by me on the bed. Well, that was a major fucking improvement. "You're hungry."

Well, yeah, it'd been over a week since I'd eaten last and a lot had fucking transpired since then…I guess I was fucking hungry. I was pretty damn impressed that she knew me well enough to know that I was in need of some blood. She'd hunted twice in the last five days, so she wasn't exactly starving. "I'll live."

She put her hand on my right knee and Edward Junior started banging against my zipper again, reminding me that he hadn't had attention in the past half hour. Sexually deprived he was not, but then, who was I to ignore his needs? I had some myself. I slipped my arm around Bella and pulled her against me, putting my hand on her ass and squeezing. She sighed and slapped my hand away.

"What the fuck?"

"Sex isn't going to solve anything."

Like hell it wouldn't. "Why the fuck not?"

Bella glared at me and fuck if Edward Junior didn't swell even more. Hot damn. Time to fight and fuck again. I loved my fucking life.

"Because you're thirsty, you idiot! Sex isn't going to make that go away."

"I beg to fucking differ. It'll take my mind off it and I can channel my energy into you. You love it when I do that, baby."

She fought back a smile and I knew I had her so I slid my hand down the back of her jeans. No panties. Bella was the perfect woman for me. I got a handful of ass cheek and squeezed again and she flew off the bed and landed five feet away from me. She crossed her arms underneath her breasts and her red t-shirt rode up and showed me her tantalizing white stomach. I let out a low growl and prepared to launch myself off the bed to tackle her to the floor.

"Don't you dare! We're not having sex right now."

What the fuck? What was the point of being in love if we weren't showing it with our bodies all day and night? _She's right you know; you need to hunt. You're acting like a cranky child that went to bed without dinner._

Oh, you fuck off. All you do is get me in trouble these days. I don't need your shit. I can't fucking leave her alone to go eat so I'll deal with waiting. I've gone longer than this without blood. _If you're going to act like an asshole every five minutes, she'll leave your stupid self on her own. _Shut the fuck up or I'll eat you. That would be a great pleasure. _You'd just be eating yourself, which is probably some kind of kinky shit that you'd like. _

Bella started tapping her foot impatiently. "What?"

"You did it again."

"Sorry, I was just…" Arguing with my fucking self? Like I was about to tell her that shit. "Thinking."

Some of the irritation faded out of her face and she crossed the room and took my hand. "Look, I know you're thirsty and it's making you act…" She broke off at my raised brow. "Ornery." Well that wasn't so fucking bad I guess. Better than what fucknugget had to say at any rate. "I think you need to hunt."

I heaved a breath and brought her hand to my lips and gave her a kiss. She smiled at me then and I couldn't believe how fucking easy it was to please her. She was quick to get pissed but a kiss on the back of the hand and she was all smiles again. She was the most phenomenal woman in the world and she was all mine.

"Yes, I'm thirsty and I do need to hunt, but we both know that I can't leave you right now, baby. We don't know where Victoria is and if she showed up while I was gone…" I couldn't finish the thought because I felt like I couldn't fucking breathe when I thought about it. "Well, I can't chance it, Bella. Don't ask me to leave you. I won't do it."

She brought her free hand to my face and cupped my cheek in her hand. "I don't want you to leave me, but you can't go on like this. You're short-tempered, you can't sit still, and if we're not having sex you're pacing a hole in the floor. It's driving both of us insane."

I grinned at her and turned my head to kiss her thumb and then tried to suck it into my mouth. She huffed and pulled it away from me. Fuck. "That's why we should be having sex. Let me make love to you, baby."

Her red eyes started to darken and I smiled in triumph. Fuck yeah, all I had to do was throw the word "love" into fucking play and she was all mine.

"I will," she said huskily and I stepped closer to press my body against hers. She stepped back. What the fuck?

"What the fuck, Bella? Are you fucking with me?"

The fire was back in her eyes now and I was painfully hard at that mutinous expression moving over her face. "I'm not fucking with you and if you keep it up, I won't be fucking you either." Well that was just fucking mean.

"What then?"

"I'll fuck you after you hunt." Jesus Christ, she had a one track mind. Why couldn't it be on the sex track like mine was?

"Bella, for the billionth fucking time, I can't leave you right now! I'll be alright."

She narrowed her eyes and jabbed me in the fucking chest. I wanted to fucking bite her but I settled for growling. "Don't you pull that on me, Edward. I'm not some wimpy human that's going to cower in fear at your terrifying growl."

She surprised a laugh out of me. I never knew what was going to come out of her gorgeous fucking mouth. I loved it. "Alright, no more growling, until I get to fuck you." She shook her head and smacked my arm. "I'm serious, baby; I'm not going into the city right now."

Bella bit her lip and studied me nervously. Why was it that I wasn't allowed to escape into my head, not that I really wanted to hear what the fucking douchetard had to say, but she could take all the fucking time in the world to think her mysterious thoughts and I had to sit by and fucking wait for her to share them? What was fucking fair about that?

I started to stomp back to the bed but her hand reached out and tangled with mine again. As usual, her touch calmed me down somewhat. She couldn't even let me be fucking annoyed when I wanted to. So fucking unfair. "What?"

"I know you can't go to the city. I'm very happy that you don't want to leave me right now. I love that you're protecting me." My shoulders relaxed slightly at her words. It was nice to be fucking appreciated for once.

"Alright, then we're on the same side. Now let's go to bed and I can channel my energy into much more fucking pleasant activities."

Bella laughed and let go of my hand. She put her arms around my waist and gave me one of those affectionate hugs that she'd been bestowing on me the past week, squeezing me and pressing her face into my chest. I could actually feel her smile through my shirt. I fucking loved when she hugged me like that.

She kept her body pressed against mine but tilted her face to look up at me. Her smile was so fucking beautiful. She was worth the fucking century it had taken me to stumble upon her. I started to back toward the bed but her arms tightened around me and she held me in place. Hey, if she wanted to fuck on the floor I'd be happy to accommodate her.

"Baby, I need you," I told her. Her smile brightened and she stood on her tiptoes and gave me a searing kiss. Fuck yes, we have lift off. Edward Junior was starting his sexy dance and my hands streaked down her sides to squeeze that perfect ass again.

Bella giggled and pulled back. "Not now."

What the fuck? "You're getting me all hot and fucking bothered and you're saying not now? What the hell, Bella?" When did she become such a cocktease? She'd figured out her fucking power over me and now she was wielding it against me like a skilled fucking swordswoman. So fucking unfair.

"You need to hunt!" she yelled, throwing up her hands and stomping her foot again.

"We just fucking established that I can't go anywhere. Should I run to the nearest farm and kill the neighbor?" Actually, that wasn't such a bad idea. I could probably be there and back in about ten minutes tops. The odds of the she-devil showing up in that small window of time were pretty fucking miniscule.

Bella's eyes shot fire at me. Fuck, she was stunning. This was our best fight since we'd shared our I love you's and I wanted to fuck her for the next few hours just to expel all the anger and heat that was moving through me. She had to let me.

Her pointer finger found my chest again. "You said you'd never kill an innocent human being again. Unless our neighbor is a secret mass murderer, you are most definitely not going to fucking kill him. Do you understand me?" She punctuated each word with a jab to my chest.

Fuck yes I do. I understand that you're bossy and strange and sexy as fuck. I swallowed the venom that welled up at her words and her anger. "Then what the fuck do you want me to do, Bella?"

"How stupid are you? Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"Apparently you do, Mrs. Einstein."

Her eyes were angry slits and her nostrils were flaring. She put her hands on her hips and looked at me haughtily, like she was the Queen of fucking England. If I didn't have her naked and moaning in the next two minutes I was going to fucking explode.

"Fine, dumbass. Then I will. You need to hunt with me."

Well, I could take her with me into the city. She'd have to hold her breath and actually stay in the fucking car this time but…wait a fucking minute. She did not mean what I think she fucking meant, did she? "What do you mean, hunt with you?" Please fucking say you mean that you want me to take you to New York with me. Please, God, don't let her be that cruel.

Some of the heat died out of her gaze and she eyed me warily. Fuck. Of course that wasn't what she fucking meant. Damn my fucking life to hell. Laughter rang in my head as she said the words that I dreaded. "You need to hunt animals, Edward." Fuck me.

I opened my mouth to rage at her but she kept on talking. "I don't mean you need to always hunt animals. I told you that you can hunt people and I won't say another word about it so long as you stick to criminals. I meant it. But right now, we can't go anywhere. There really isn't any other choice."

Like fuck there wasn't. The choice not to eat was right there waiting for me and I was more than willing to go that route. "Bella, I'm fine, seriously. I appreciate your concern, but I can handle waiting."

She sighed and shook her head. "Why must you be so stubborn?"

I barked out a laugh. Me? I was the stubborn one? "Look who's talking, baby."

She grinned at me then, in her billionth lightning quick mood change of the day. Yeah, I was the fucking moody one. My ass. "Yes, I am stubborn which is why I'll win."

"Like hell you will."

Bella gave me a quick kiss on the lips, hot enough to have Edward Junior stirring again. "Oh, but I will. I'm not going to fuck you again until you've taken care of your other hunger."

What the fuck did she just say? "So, you're cockblocking me, again, until I do what you want?" Fuckface was laughing yet again, he was enjoying the fuck out of her getting me all worked up and leaving me high and fucking dry.

"You can call it whatever you like. I'm tired of your mood swings." She went back to her window seat and picked her book back up and sat down.

"_My_ mood swings? You're the one with the mood swings!"

"I'm a new vampire and a woman," she told me, peering at me over the cover of her book. "What's your excuse?"

"My excuse is that you make me fucking crazy."

She lowered the book and gave me a sweet smile. "And you love that about me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have reading to do."

Bella was back to her reading, humming yet a fucking gain. It had been cute before but now it was just her lording it over me. She had me by the fucking balls and we both knew it.

_You may as well just give in. You can't live without sex now. Not after you've had a taste of her again. _Do you think I don't fucking know that I can't live without fucking her? I'm not a fucking idiot, no matter what the two of you say about me.

_She's not asking you to give up humans permanently. It's just a one-time thing until they catch Victwhoria. It's like if a person has nothing in their refrigerator but lettuce. They can either go hungry or eat a fucking salad. Time for you to have a damn salad, you stubborn asshole. _

Fuck you. You're not the one who's had to make a billion fucking compromises for her. Why can't I have just this one thing? _What one thing? Eating humans only? You tried damn deer blood and it didn't kill you! _But it fucked up my taste buds. _Yeah, buddy, you keep telling yourself that. You don't want her to be upset with you when you hunt. _She won't be. _Not now, but she was before. That's if she's not lying. _

That was another fucking thing. What if she was just doing all this to bend me to her will and make me eat animals all the time? I could probably deal with it just once, but she'd stretch it out again and again until that was all I ate. _How do you fucking know? She said she didn't have a problem with it. Has she lied to you yet? _Not that I fucking know of but who knows what goes on in her crazy head?

_I do and I'm telling you, she means what she says. She wants you to hunt now so you'll stop being such a pain in the ass. Can't you give her that much, so you can get back into her fucking pants again? _

I glanced at Bella, sitting with her head against the window, completely engrossed in her fucking book again. Or she was pretending to be, because she was fucking crafty that way. Her tight little body was curled up I could see a sliver of her side where her shirt rode up again. Fuck I wanted her. And because I wanted her, I'd have to do what she fucking wanted, as usual. I was such a god damn pussy. _But being one gets you access to the pussy, and you know you want it. _Yes, I really fucking did.

I walked over to the window and stood next to Bella. She kept right on reading, like she didn't fucking know that I was standing there. I sighed and she ignored me. I ran my hand through my hair, which I knew she fucking loved, and she turned the page to her book, her eyes staying on the page. Fucking spell-casting witch. I reached down and picked her up and threw her over my shoulder.

"Edward! What the hell are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm fucking doing? I'm taking you hunting."

"For real?"

"Yes, for real. You fucking win, like always." I carried her down the stairs, keeping my hand on her ass. She was finally fucking compliant, not attempting to get away.

"Edward?"

"What?" I growled. She'd won that didn't mean I had to be fucking graceful about it.

"I'll make sure you fucking win as soon as we eat."

I reached the front door and put her down. "Yeah?"

She kissed me hard. "Yeah." Maybe letting her win wasn't such a bad fucking thing after all. _You're ruled by your cock. _Damn right I am, and proud of it.

"Let's go."

Bella grinned at me and took off in a streak of brown, black and red, the colors I would always most associate with her. I ran after, delighting in the feel of the cool breeze against my face. It was officially fall and the leaves were nearly as vivid as my Bella. Oranges, yellows and reds surrounded us as we plunged into the forest, dead leaves crunching in our wake, seconds after we'd moved beyond them. I loved watching my girl run. She was lithe and graceful and mouthwateringly lovely. We needed to find a fucking animal or two soon because I needed to fuck her now.

"Where are we headed?"

She glanced back at me, not losing a step as she headed northeast through the forest. "To the meadow I found the other day. I saw a herd of deer there. I didn't go after them because…" she broke off and shook her head and kept running. I didn't need her to continue to know exactly why she hadn't attacked the deer. There was a fucking fawn or two of course. Did she think they wouldn't be with their family now? My tenderhearted little vampire never failed to fucking astound me with her sensitivity.

Bella leaped over a fallen log and I made the same jump seconds later. I liked staying behind her and admiring her sexy little ass in those black jeans she wore. It'd been awhile since I fucked her against tree…since that first day we'd been here. Yes, I think I need to rectify that oversight really fucking soon.

Bella began to slow her pace to almost a walk and she moved forward stealthily, her eyes narrowed in concentration. And now I could fucking smell it and of course it was deer. Couldn't run into another bear now could we? At least that would have been slightly fucking tolerable. But no, I was going to have to drink a damn deer in order to get Bella off my fucking back and onto hers. Life was easy, once.

_And you were bored. _No I wasn't, I had plenty of fun. _Yes, you had fun but nobody challenged you like she did. Nobody improved you like she did. You're lucky she came along. _I didn't need fucking improving, but I won't argue with you that I'm lucky to have her in my life. I'm well aware of that fact, you moron. Aren't you supposed to be sitting back gloating silently about me giving in to my woman again? _I don't like being silent. It's much more fun to irritate you. _Go the fuck away, I'm not letting you get to me on top of what I'm about to do. I don't need your shit. I have plenty of my own to deal with.

Bella got into a crouch and damned if Edward Junior didn't spring to action immediately at the sight of her on all fours. Fuck. Her t-shirt rode up and her jeans rode down and there was plenty of pretty white flesh to sink my teeth into. There better not be a fucking baby deer down there. I needed to eat now so I could satisfy my true hunger. Why she thought I needed blood when I could have her was beyond me. She was all I'd ever truly crave anymore. Blood was blood but Bella was every fucking thing.

I crouched next to her, placing my hands on the log she was currently behind. Of course, I really wanted to place myself behind her and just fuck her senseless but she'd probably beat my ass if I tried. I could wait, a little bit. Bella nudged me and I realized I was fucking devouring her with my eyes rather than looking into the meadow she'd guided me to.

It was like a painting, a bright, open space with sunlight shining down onto the green grass. There were some little groupings of flowers in purples and blues. One look at Bella's face and I could tell it was her dream place. I'd have to get her a bench or some blankets or some damn thing so she could come out here and read. And I'd be right fucking next to her waiting to distract her with a roll through the fucking flowers, too.

_Flowers! You can pick her some now! _Stop being such a fucking woman. She'd probably get pissed at me for destroying her happy place. _Sad, but true. The two of you are quite a pair. You could be skipping through this field hand in hand and instead you'll probably scream at each other and then fuck like animals. Why am I stuck with you? _

Like you're the one who's stuck? And I'll have you know that fucking in a field of flowers is very romantic. Excuse me, "making love." Girls like that shit. You wait and see.

"You see them?" she whispered. I followed her gaze and my nose and I could see, on the far side of the meadow, three large deer grazing. They weren't aware of us yet, as of course my girl had been smart enough to make sure we came in downwind from the meadow. I nodded and her fingers tensed next to mine so I prepared myself to make my move and take down a fucking deer to make her happy.

The smell was revolting and I didn't feel the venom welling up in my mouth like it usually did before a hunt. This fucking sucked. I didn't want to eat a damn deer. Why couldn't a damn lion wander through? Or a wolf or something? Deer were so tame and fucking boring. _Stop your bitching. You do want to get laid, don't you?_

Right. Eyes on the prize, Cullen. I looked at Bella and the venom welled up then. Jesus. One fucking look at her and I was salivating like a puppy. She was a hell of a prize. At least I felt hungry now, even if it was hungry for her instead of the fucking deer. Still, have one, then the other. I could deal this once.

Bella's black eyes cut to mine and fuck if she wasn't even hotter when she was hunting. What I wouldn't fucking give to see her take down a human. She nodded once and then sprang. I was a second behind her and we both streaked through the meadow in a second, somehow leaping at the same exact moment and landing on our unsuspecting prey.

I took the deer that was to the right and Bella got the one in the middle, while the left one skittered away. The frightened animal brayed and bucked beneath my grip but I held on and watched as Bella's teeth sank into the neck of her deer. Fuck, she was beautiful. She glared at me and gave me a mumbled order to drink so I bit into my deer, keeping my eyes on hers while we both fed. It had been hotter when we were sharing the same animal but this was still pretty fucking hot, watching my girl drain her deer at the same time I took mine. Plus it gave me something to concentrate on beyond the foul taste of the blood filling my mouth.

I could not fathom willingly surviving on this crap. My girl was fucking crazy; there was no doubt about it. She had the most beautiful heart in the world but she was wrong in the fucking head if she was going to live like this forever. The bland, bitter taste made me want to stop but I knew if I didn't drain the fucking thing, Bella would have a fit and cockblock me again. That was not fucking acceptable so I'd just suffer through.

Her eyes burned into mine, black to black as her mouth moved and I watched as she ran her tongue over the fur to capture some blood that was escaping. Fuck me, that was hot. Her little red tongue was taunting me. I swallowed another disgusting mouthful and actually started sucking harder on the neck to get more blood in my mouth. The sooner I was done, the sooner I could have her.

Bella's cheek lifted a little bit and I knew she was fucking smiling, enjoying her power over me. It sort of pissed me off but it was also fucking hot, that she knew she could make me crawl if she fucking wanted and she was more than willing to make me do it. The princess was now a confident queen, ruling me effortlessly. She'd broken the last fucking barrier and had me willingly drinking animal blood, for fuck's sake.

_You should wave a white flag in surrender! _You don't have to sound so fucking gleeful about it. _Oh but I am. You're finally there, big boy. You've made all the changes you needed to make to get Bella to love you and you don't need me anymore._

Holy fuck! Does that mean you're going to go? _Not forever. I'll still be here if you need me but I think you just may have this. Don't let me down._ Fuck off. It's not about you, it never was. _No, it was always about the two of you. It's about time you realized that. _What the fuck ever, just go like you said you would. _I'm leaving, but remember, I'm always here waiting for when you fuck up. And you will. But I'll let you try to bumble your way through it together before I step in. Go, enjoy your girl. Oh, and marry her, will you?_

Don't start that shit again. We don't need rings and vows to have forever. We already do. _Sure, you keep telling yourself that. I know what you want. So do you. I'm the one person you can't lie to, well, the second, because you can't lie to her either. One day, you'll marry the girl. And I'll be there celebrating. _Right, you'll be there crying like a little girl. _Maybe. Now, enjoy your freedom before I change my mind and decide you need more improving. Your ego could definitely use…_

Fuck that. My ego isn't changing. Goodbye. You won't be fucking missed. _Yes, I will. _Laughter echoed through my head and then it was blissfully silent. I noticed with some surprise that my deer was pretty much drained. Motherfucker had distracted me and allowed me to finish eating without thinking about it. Maybe he wasn't as much of a prick as I'd originally thought. Oh fuck, that isn't an invitation to come back, just so you know! I'm all good. More laughter but no words followed and I was thrilled. Alone at fucking last!

Bella dropped her deer and came over to me, holding out her hand. I threw mine down and took hers and stood. She tugged me out of the shadows and into the center of the meadow. The sun was shining down on us and our skin was fucking sparkling. I fucking hated being in the sunlight but I couldn't deny that Bella was somehow even more gorgeous with the light shining down on her. She smiled and reached up and cupped my face in her hands.

"I'm so proud of you."

Jeez, it wasn't like I'd fucking saved a kid from a burning building or anything. So, I'd killed a fucking deer. Big deal. I shrugged and she laughed. "I am. I know you didn't want to drink but you did. Thank you for doing that for me. I was worried about you."

Worried about me? What the fuck? "Bella, I was fine." I tilted my head to kiss her palm as she caressed my face.

She shook her head. "You weren't fine. You were going crazy being cooped up. I'm sorry you're stuck here, because of me."

Fuck that. I took her hand from my face and pulled her to me. "Don't ever fucking say that I'm stuck because of you. I love you, Bella. I would do anything for you, as you can clearly see." I gestured to the deer corpse at the edge of the meadow. "I just don't like feeling like we're under the gun, waiting for her show up and fuck with me again. She's…" I broke off, not sure what I could tell her.

"There's something wrong with her, Bella. I know you're sort of crazy…" She glared and tried to tug out of my hold but I wouldn't let her so she stamped on my foot. Fuck that hurt. "But you're harmless crazy. She's insane. And I hate the thought of her being near you. I hate the thought of her sullying our home. I hope to fuck she doesn't come here. She poisons everything she touches. It took me far too long to feel clean after I got away from her. I don't want to go through that again."

Bella stopped struggling and wrapped her arms around my waist, crushing me to her in a tight hug. "She can't poison you or me, Edward. Not when we're together. And she won't touch our home. I'll tear her apart before I let her ruin one blade of grass." Her voice was fierce and her eyes were black with the conviction of her words. She was fucking amazing.

I laughed and kissed her hard and she melted into me the way she did that made me feel like the most powerful fucking man on earth. Which, I probably fucking was. "Tear her apart, huh?"

"Isn't that what you're supposed to do? That's what you told me." I was sorry I'd ever fucking told her how a vampire could be killed. It was nothing she'd ever need to know.

"Yes, but I don't think that'll be necessary."

"We'll see," she murmured, pressing her lips to my chest. What was this shit about? Did she honestly think she was going to take on Victoria alone? Where the fuck did she think I would be?

"Bella…"

"Shh." She stepped out of my arms and raised her t-shirt over her head. She wasn't wearing a bra and every thought flew out of my head at the sight of her beautiful breasts glinting in the sunlight. Fuck. Her jeans came off next and she wasn't wearing any panties either, thank fuck. She kicked them aside and looked at me expectantly, putting her hands on her hips. "Well? I believe I made you a promise I'd like to keep."

I was the luckiest fucking vampire in existence. I yanked my shirt off, hearing it rip in my hurry to get it off me. Bella giggled and reached out to unbutton my jeans and slide down my zipper herself. I guess she didn't want me to have to run home naked, not that I had a fucking problem with it. She pulled them down my legs and I stepped out of them.

There was a good tree about twenty feet away, maybe I should take her there. Bella took my hand and plopped down where we stood, her pale body contrasting beautifully with the bright green grass. Here then. I allowed her to pull me down to her, my lips meeting hers as she lay back and pulled me on top of her. Her hands moved over my back lightly, with little feathery touches that I could feel pulsing through my entire body. Fuck that was hot.

Her legs parted and I settled between them, rubbing Edward Junior against her pussy as my lips moved with hers in the soft, sweet kisses. She moaned and I slid inside her, closing my eyes as I felt that completeness that I always felt when I was joined with her. It was fucking incredible.

Bella began to move below me, her hips angling off the grass to meet mine as I thrust lazily inside her. I looked into her shining black eyes again, seeing there all the love that I felt reflected back at me. She was the greatest gift I would I ever receive.

"I love you." It was fucked up how easy it was to say it now, after all the terror I'd felt over the process of giving her my heart.

"I love you, too." And hearing it…there was nothing better than having the girl you loved love you back.

Her hips began to move faster and I moved with her. The sun was warming my back but Bella was even hotter below me, a raging inferno as she moaned and thrashed and started to come apart around me. It was the most beautiful fucking sight in the world and I couldn't stop myself from coming with her. Her lips were still soft and sweet on mine despite the hunger and heat we'd just expended.

I rolled off her and pulled her to my chest, laying in the sunlight and tracing a finger over her luminous skin. "This is a good place."

She smiled and kissed my chest, right where my heart was. No, actually, she was my heart and I fucking loved it. "I love it here. I found it three days ago and I wanted to bring you here immediately but…" she broke off. I remembered she'd been excited about something when she came back from hunting but I'd been horny as fuck and I'd attacked her the instant she walked in the door. "You distracted me."

"In the best possible way." I smirked at her and she laughed and nibbled on my neck.

"Yes. I'm glad I got to share it with you now, though. Thank you for hunting with me, Edward. I won't ask you to do it again."

She wouldn't either. I could see it in her eyes. But dickhead had a point and maybe I could work on this whole compromising thing. The fucking blood hadn't killed me and with the right incentive…

"I'll do it again."

Bella's mouth fell open and she pushed herself up on one elbow to look down at me. "What?"

"I'm not saying I'm giving up humans. I'm just saying that maybe I can eat with you sometimes and eat alone other times." This was tricky but I hoped she was going to understand my fucking point. "Like, say a normal guy marries a vegetarian woman."

She raised a brow. "I notice that the guy is the normal one and the woman is the weirdo?"

I grinned at her. "Of course!" She smacked my chest and I caught her hand and gave her a smacking kiss to the back of it. "Anyway, let's say he eats steak and hamburgers and shit all the time before they get together and then when they're dating he eats salads and bark and crap because it's what she likes. But when they're not together, he still goes out and gets his meat. We could be like that, couldn't we?"

She watched me for a few minutes, drawing little patterns on my chest. I waited, as fucking usual, for her to say whatever was on her mind. Why the fuck couldn't I hear her? It was fucking annoying. "So, what you're saying is, you'll eat with me when we're together and you'll eat humans when we're not."

It wasn't that fucking hard to grasp. "Yes."

"But you hate animal blood."

No shit. "But I love you and want to be with you. I'll go into the city now and then because I have to pick up shit and that's when I'll hunt humans. Bad ones, just like I promised."

Bella bit her lip and then nodded. "Okay, that sounds fair."

"Really? You won't get fucking mad at me when I feed on a human?"

She glared at me again. "I already told you I wouldn't."

I laughed and pushed her hair over her shoulder. "It's one thing to say it; it's another thing for you to actually do it."

"I said I would and I meant it." She poked me in the chest again and I pulled her down to me and gave her a searing kiss.

"See, baby, we can fucking compromise when we want to."

"Yes, we can."

We stayed in the meadow until the sun went down, making love and talking and arguing and just being us. Eventually we decided to head home so Bella pulled on her clothes and I pulled on my jeans, leaving my ruined shirt in the meadow. We joined hands and ran home at a more leisurely pace. I kept my eyes on her, just enjoying having her by my side and in my fucking life. She was my miracle.

About three miles from home I heard something, a faint sound that came and went before I could identify it. A few steps later and I caught something else and pulled Bella to a stop. She opened her mouth to ask what the fuck I was doing but I put my finger over her lips to silence her. Something was going on and I knew it wasn't good.

_Where is he? I've been waiting for hours. He's been here recently, I can still smell him. Oh, my Edward, I'd recognize your scent anywhere. I know you've missed me as much as I've missed you. Come to me, darling. I need you._

Fuck. I knew, of course I fucking knew that she'd elude the Volturi and come here to me. That was the reason I'd been so fucking pent up all week. Now she was here and I needed to get the fuck out of here and call the Greek prick and let him deal with her.

"What?" Bella hissed between clenched teeth. This was not going to be fucking good.

"She's here."

I didn't have to tell her who she was. Bella straightened and her eyes narrowed into tiny slits and she tried to tug her hand from mine but I wouldn't let go. "Let's just go back to the meadow. I'll call and we'll let them deal with it."

"That's our home, Edward. I'm not letting that bitch spend another minute alone in my home. What if she hurts Willow?"

That fucking cow. "Bella, she's not going to touch your fucking cow unless you let her know just how much you love the damn thing. Then she'd kill her to hurt you." Bella flinched and tried to get free again but I held firm. "Let's just go back and…"

"No."

God fucking help me, she wasn't going to listen. "Alright, then, I'll go and…"

She growled and pushed me into a tree. "You are not leaving me alone like some helpless female while you deal with your crazy ex. If you think I'm going to sit behind and let her see and touch you, you're a fucking idiot. You're mine and I'm going to make damn sure she knows it. Now, text Demetri and let's go and kick her the hell out of our home."

Her eyes were blazing and her voice was fierce and I was fucking hard as a rock again at the sight of her. I took my phone out of my pocket and texted Demetri without taking my eyes off her. I couldn't look away if I wanted to. She was glorious. My avenging angel in the flesh. I closed my phone and she took my hand in hers.

"Let's go." This was going to be fucking interesting. Past was about to meet present and future. Fucking hell, you picked a pretty shitty time to desert me fuckwad. I heard some cackling and nothing else. It looked like I'd have to handle this mess on my own. Bella tugged on my hand and I looked at her and she gave me a fierce, glittering smile. No, not on my own. Never on my own again.

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**A/N *sobs* Our little vamp is all grown up and IMF is trusting him to use his judgment and make his woman happy on his own! Think Smugs can handle it? He has come a long way after all! I'll miss that little guy though. *sniffles*  
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**I got wordy in this chapter, shocker, so it looks like we have 3 more chapters left instead of 2. Still nearing the end, but not as quickly. And we'll see how this Victoria situation develops, maybe it'll be more! **


	25. Chapter 23

Taste of Innocence Chapter 23

Bella led me through the forest, her eyes focusing straight ahead, her iron grip unrelenting on my hand. Fuck, she was hot as hell when she was possessive over me and our home and her stupid cow. I wondered idly where I rated among the three but of course I had to be number one, right? She didn't love that fucking animal more than she loved me and a house could be rebuilt. No, my girl adored me and it was fucking intoxicating.

"Would you hurry up?" she hissed through clenched teeth. Like I was fucking meandering through the forest? Okay, maybe I was trying to slow down our progress a little, but could she fucking blame me? The longer we took, the less time I'd have to deal with the she-beast and hopefully the Volturi fucker would arrive shortly after we did. The sooner, the better.

"Bella…"

"No, Edward. We are not hiding out in the forest. She's probably heard us by now anyway." That was fucking true. Should have stayed in the fucking meadow and made love all night. That was infinitely preferable to what we were about to do. And just how the fuck did she know what I was thinking anyway? So help me God if she could read my mind and I couldn't read hers, I'd go on a fucking rampage.

"How'd you know what I was thinking?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because I know you, idiot. You're trying to keep me safe, which I will not thank you for. I can handle myself and you and anyone else who comes along." Her red eyes blazed and Edward Junior responded to the heat in her words. Fuck me. We needed to get rid of Victoria quickly because I needed to buried in Bella pronto and there was no way she was going to allow me to fuck her while Victoria loitered around our house. Damn that bitch to hell. Of all of her many atrocities she'd committed against me, keeping me from fucking my girl was number one on the list.

Alright, so that might be a slight exaggeration. Victoria had done a lot of fucked up shit. But Bella was fucking stunning right now and all I wanted to do was lose myself in her and forget all about that demon that was waiting anxiously for my arrival.

"I hear you, Edward. Who is that you're talking to? Why aren't you alone? It's that female I smell, isn't it? Such a lovely, floral scent. Is she as sweet as she smells? Have you fucked her like you used to fuck me? Eighty six years and I still remember it like it was yesterday. Nobody touches me like you do. Like you will again. Come to me, my love." Her high-pitched voice grated on my nerves like it had all those years ago.

Bella froze in her tracks and turned to look at me, her gaze burning into mine. This time it wasn't heat, though, it was frost. Fucking Victoria. I grabbed Bella's shoulders and pulled her into my arms and kissed her hard. She was stiff for a few seconds but then she relaxed and returned my kiss. Thank fucking God.

I broke our kiss and touched her cheek softly. "It's you, Bella. Only you. Forever. Whatever she thinks there was, there wasn't. Please, believe me. I love you."

She took a deep breath and gave me a small smile. "I know. I love you, too. I just wish you were wearing a shirt."

How the fuck could she make me laugh at a time like this? Only Bella. "You're the one who ripped it off me."

"Never again," she muttered. Now that was just fucking unacceptable.

"You'd better." I loved it when she tore my clothes off. Bella just gave me a grin and I knew that there was no way in hell that she could resist tearing off my clothes at the next opportunity. She was a girl after my own heart.

"Well, isn't that sweet? Bring your friend out to meet me, Edward. Or shall I come to you?" There was an edge to Victoria's voice now. Fucking hell. This was not going to be pleasant.

Bella's fingers linked with mine again and we moved quickly through the forest. I saw the tree line up ahead and it was mere seconds before we burst through and saw our home again. I didn't see her yet but I knew she was nearby. I could feel her and it was like a punch to the stomach. Why? Why the fuck did she have to find me when life was good?

Bella turned her head in the direction of the barn and sure enough, there was Victoria, leaning against the side of the building wearing…oh my fuck. "What the hell is that?" Bella hissed angrily, her grip on my hand tightening to the point of pain. I couldn't even fucking care because the sight before me was absolutely horrifying.

Victoria had a shit-eating grin on her face and a bouquet of dead flowers in her hands, which should have been the most disturbing thing about her but it didn't even fucking come close. She was wearing a wedding dress, a fucking white satin dress with lace and pearls and what had to be fucking blood down the front of it. On her head, instead of a veil, she wore a nun's habit. It was seriously fucking disturbing and I hadn't a clue what the fuck to do about it.

Bella didn't seem to have that problem, though, because she kept moving toward Victoria, pulling me along with her until we were about five feet away. She finally stopped and I stopped with her. Victoria pushed off the side of the barn and closed the distance, stopping only a foot away from us, her eyes devouring me hungrily. I felt fucking violated by the way she was looking at me.

"Edward." Her voice was soft, reverent. It was really fucking creepy. I saw the intention in her eyes as her hand reached for me and I took a step back at the same time that Bella slapped her hand away from my chest. Victoria's eyes narrowed and she turned to look at Bella for the first time. If looks could kill, my girl would be a pile of ashes at my feet. I slipped my arm around her waist, just needing to fucking feel her by my side.

"Who are you?" Victoria demanded. "Why are you touching my man? I could destroy you without a thought, little one."

Bella smiled sweetly, as unconcerned as if she were talking to somebody about the weather instead of some demented vampire that wanted to end her. "I'm Edward's wife." I had to fight to keep from doing a double take at that announcement. Why did that have to sound so fucking appealing to me? I didn't want a wife, damn it. At least I didn't think I did. But I wanted Bella and when she called herself my wife, it made me feel warm inside, which was a welcome feeling since ice had settled in the pit of my stomach at the sight of Victoria.

"What?" Victoria screeched. This time I did flinch because her voice was so fucking grating that I felt it inside my fucking brain. How the fuck had I endured her for eight months? It must have been the bloodlust taking my focus away from how fucking annoying she was.

"His wife," Bella enunciated slowly, like she was talking to an idiot. Which, she more or less was. "His lover." Fucking right she was, damn that was hot. "His mate." Bella smiled on the last word, like she was savoring it. How far we'd come since she'd first heard that fucking word.

"Mate? I'm his mate!" Victoria crushed her dead fucking roses in her hands and tossed them at Bella's feet. "He was made for me. I made him! He's mine!"

Bella just continued to smile as she took one step and smashed the dead flowers below her. It was sort of fucking disturbing, though not nearly as disturbing as Victoria calling me hers. What the fuck made her think I belonged to her? If I were her damn mate, wouldn't I have stayed with her instead of getting the fuck away as soon as the opportunity presented itself? She was seriously fucked in the head.

"Maybe you made him, because you thought he was your mate. But he ran away from you." Victoria hissed and I braced for an attack. It was fucking coming, I knew it. "And you know what, Victwhoria?" I heard the emphasis on whore again and fought back a laugh. Laughing now would not be a fucking good thing.

"What?" Her voice was shaking so I tightened my grip on Bella's waist and prepared to throw myself in front of her before Victoria sprang.

"He made me. He wanted me. He chose me. Not you. It's I who am his mate, not you. I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing but that's how these things go sometimes." Bella spoke the words with barely suppressed glee and her eyes were alight with challenge. Fuck, she was totally baiting Victoria and damned if it wasn't the hottest fucking thing I'd ever seen.

Victoria's hands curled into fists at her sides and her ruby gaze cut to me. "You made her? Why?" Hurt and accusation colored her words. Did she seriously fucking think I cared about her?

A couple of weeks ago I couldn't have answered her question. I'd been compelled to make Bella mine and I had no fucking clue why. I'd attributed it to just needing to understand her quiet mind and fuck her delectable body but those had been excuses. I looked at Bella and linked my fingers with hers again, needing the connection, and brought our joined hands to her face, running my thumb along her cheek. "Because I love her. Because she's my mate. Because she was meant to be mine, forever."

"No! No, no, no, no," Victoria shrieked, whirling away from us and starting to pace erratically. "That can't be!" She turned back and got right in my face. "You're mine! I made you!" She put her hand on my chest then and Bella tensed next to me. Fuck. Not good. I started to step back but she grabbed my shoulder so I was forced to push her hand off me, before Bella did it.

"Yes, you made me, but I don't belong to you." Victoria flinched as if I'd slapped her. I didn't know how to fucking tread here. I wanted to scream at her to go the fuck away but she was so crazy that might set her off and if I coddled her and was kind she'd probably think I really wanted her. Fucking hell, where are you asshole? A little help please?

"You are my mate. I've spent all this time waiting for you. Every lover I took was just a pale imitation of you." Her hand was on my chest again and Bella was growling and I had no idea what the fuck to do. Bella wrenched her hand away from mine and yanked Victoria's hand off me.

"Stop fucking touching him. He's mine." Fuck that was hot. Edward Junior responded to her words, of course, and started straining against my zipper again. Fucking moron. Do you really want to get ripped off if these two throw down right fucking here? He calmed somewhat then, easing the pressure on my zipper but he was still hard. Not that I could blame him, because Bella calling me hers would always be fucking hot. Plus whenever she said fuck I automatically wanted to do just that.

Victoria faced her again. _I'm going to rip your pretty little head off your shoulders and Edward and I will make love by the fire as you burn. _That was all it took to make Edward Junior go limp and I had to fight back the panic that I felt at the image in Victoria's mind. Never. I would never let that happen. I'd jump in and burn with Bella before I'd let that bitch touch me.

"Think about it, Victwhoria. If he was your mate, would he have left you?" Some of the anger left Victoria's face and she looked confused. "He didn't even want to go to the city this week to hunt because he didn't want to leave me alone. Yet he managed to stay away from you for nearly a century. What does that tell you?" Bella's voice was angry, mocking, and it was fucking sexy.

"He didn't leave," she said, shaking her head. "He was taken. Someone ripped him away from me. I've spent all this time looking, waiting. I knew he'd be mine again." Holy fuck was she delusional. Bella looked at me and raised an eyebrow. Oh great. Here we fucking go. Time for me to fucking come clean, apparently.

"I left." Victoria's gaze whipped back to mine and she let out a moan at my words. This fucking sucked. I didn't want to hurt the crazy vampire but I had to tell her the truth. Maybe she'd just leave; no harm no foul. Sure. Who the fuck was I kidding?

"No, Edward, you were taken. You couldn't find me. But that's okay. I came to you and I'm here now. Everything can be the way it was." The way it was; blood, gore, violent, angry sex. Not one ounce of emotion other than disgust, at least not on my part. No fucking thank you.

"No, Victoria, I left. I wasn't happy with you. I didn't like hunting with you. I just…didn't want to be with you, period." Couldn't be any more fucking clear than that, could I?

Victoria shook her head, her red hair looking like fire against the white of her dress. "No. She's bewitched you or something. She made you forget what we were like. But I can show you. Let me show you, Edward." She reached out for me again and again Bella smacked her arm away. Victoria growled and then Bella growled and Edward Junior stirred and I tried to position myself between the two of them. No way was she going to hurt my girl. I would not allow it.

"You remember, don't you, Edward?" She raked her fingernails down my chest and I grunted at the pain. Victoria's nails; another fucking thing I had most certainly not missed. Bella tried to reach around me and I blocked her with my body. It sickened me to have Victoria's hands on me but I'd rather her touch me than lay her filthy fucking hands on my beautiful Bella.

"Remember when I killed that priest in Idaho and you licked his blood off my body while I was draped across the altar like an offering, an offering to you?" I remembered. I remembered how she'd savagely torn into the priest and then just as savagely tore into me. She'd nearly pulled my fucking arm off and she'd bitten me all over my chest. I hadn't let her anywhere near my dick, for fear she'd rip Edward Junior right off.

Bella made a quiet noise behind me, some strange combination of a gasp and a cry of pain. Fuck. I did not need Victoria filling her head with sordid stories of my past. I couldn't turn to look at her because I was afraid Victoria would strike. "I remember. It was that incident that solidified my decision to leave you as soon as I could." Victoria shrieked and Bella pressed a kiss to my shoulder. Thank fuck, she wasn't pissed.

Victoria tried to claw me again and I grabbed both her wrists in my hands. "Just fucking stop, Victoria. I don't want you. I haven't wanted you since you bit me in that fucking alley. I stayed with you because I had to. I fucked you because I had all this pent up rage and hate inside me and that was the only way I could deal with it and it was a good way to fucking shut you up." She gasped but I had to let it all out. "I hated you. I hated hunting with you. You're fucked in the head and I want no part of you. I never did."

Bella's arms wrapped around my waist and she ran her hands over the places Victoria had touched me, taking all the darkness and disgust away with one touch. She was my light and she made everything better just by being there. The past faded with her light caresses and instead of bloody altars I saw sunny meadows and quiet forests. I could never repay whatever god had seen fit to bring her into my life and let her love me.

Victoria stared at me blankly, like she wasn't sure how to process what I'd just said. _This is not right. This is not what I thought would happen. She's done something to him. Once she's gone, he'll be normal again. He doesn't mean what he's saying. She's making him do it. She's ensnared him somehow and made him forget how good we are together. _

I couldn't help it and I laughed. She focused in on me finally and her eyes narrowed into angry slits. _I'll just kill her and then we can be together. I'll break the spell. _

"I'm not under a spell, Victoria, though I once thought I was. It's called love, and if you really felt it for me, I'd feel sorry for you. But you don't. You want me because I'm some sort of possession to you. The toy you lost. You don't know what love is."

_Did I say that out loud? _"No, Edward." She shook her head and reached toward my face. I started to yank my head away but the next thing I knew I was flying into the side of the barn and crashing through it, wood splintering around me. Bella was screaming about Victoria putting her hands on her man and I sprang to my feet and ran back through the hole my body had made in the wall and saw Bella punch her in the jaw. It was a fucking beautiful sight but then Victoria shrieked and leapt at her and Bella ducked and rolled and struck her in the stomach. Victoria crashed to the ground and they started rolling around in a flurry of arms and legs.

I paused, not really sure I wanted to wade into the flying fists and kicking legs plus…it was really fucking hot. I mean, I'd had chicks fight over me before, plenty of times actually. But they'd been human and I'd really not given a fuck about them and this was very different. This was the love of my life fighting with the bat-shit crazy vampire who'd created me and thought she was in love with me. I almost missed the emo douche because though he may be gay as a three dollar bill, he would no doubt appreciate the fight right along with me. Every male liked a catfight no matter his sexual orientation.

Victoria yanked Bella's hair and she let out a yell and that got me moving, because she was not to be hurt, no matter how sexy it was to see her beating on Victoria. I grabbed the redhead and pulled her off my girl, flinging her halfway across the yard and pulling Bella to her feet. "Are you okay, baby?"

An outraged shriek sounded behind me and again I found myself flying through the air as the woman I loved tossed me aside like a ragdoll and flew at Victoria. A thunderous sound greeted the crashing of their bodies and Bella got her fist in Victoria's hair and yanked hard. I landed in the fucking corral next to Willow, who sniffed me before continuing to chew on the grass below her, completely unaffected by the chaos going on a few yards away from her. It was a good fucking thing I hadn't actually flown into the damn cow. Bella would have blamed my ass if she got hurt, even though she was the one who fucking threw me. Twice. My woman threw me and fucking masochist that I was, I liked it. Maybe Victoria's crazy had worn off on me all those years ago and was starting to manifest now. Or Bella's was. Who the fuck knew?

I got up and walked slowly over to the fence, climbing it and sitting on top of it just watching the two women tear into one another. After Bella's last throw, I wasn't exactly anxious to wade back into the fray but I would if it looked like Bella was in trouble. She drove her elbow into Victoria's midsection with a loud crack and it seemed she was doing just fine without me. Still, if Victoria were to get into a position to damage her, I could be between them in less than a second.

I saw something out of the corner of my eye and tensed, ready to fling myself at the intruder until he ran up next to me.

"What do we have here?" Demetri asked with a grin, his eyes on Bella and Victoria.

"My ex, who think she's my mate, and my actual mate. They don't seem to like each other very much. I wonder why?"

He chuckled at my sarcasm and leaned on the fence next to me. "Should we break it up?"

"I'm only going back in if Bella's in trouble. I've tried to stop them twice and been thrown out of the way each time. You're welcome to give it a shot."

Bella took a blow to the jaw and I tensed but she shook it off and yanked on Victoria's hair again, making her yell and lunge.

"Do you often incite women to such passions?"

I smirked at him. "What do you think?"

"Maybe I should move to America."

I laughed and nudged him with my left leg. "You're not me, though."

"I could have had her, if I'd seen her first." Rage welled up in me at the idea but I tampered it down. No, she was meant for me.

"Wishful thinking, Demetri."

He sighed wistfully as Victoria yanked on Bella's t-shirt and her chest popped free. "Can you blame me?" Oh fuck no.

"Give me your shirt."

"What?" He stared at me, completely baffled.

"You're not looking at my girl's breasts. Give me your fucking shirt or I'll kill you."

"It's not like it's the first set of…"

I growled and he broke off and unbuttoned his white shirt and handed it to me. Good, I wouldn't have to kill him. I grabbed it and got off the fence and pushed Victoria, sending her flying toward the house while I pulled Bella to her feet and wrapped her in Demetri's shirt. I didn't really like my girl wearing another man's shirt but it was better than the other fucking option. Had the fucker not been on scene I would have gladly watched my girl roll around half naked while she kicked Victoria's ass.

"What are you doing?" Bella growled through gritted teeth, batting at my hands as I fastened the buttons.

"The Greek prick is here and he's not looking at you half naked."

"Really, Edward, I think there are more important things to focus on."

"You have your focus, I have mine." I felt something hit me in the back of my neck and turned to see Victoria chucking rocks at me. What the fuck?

Bella shoved me out of the way and caught the next rock that came flying, throwing it back at Victoria as she ran and tackled her to the ground again. Jesus. Like I couldn't fucking throw the rock myself? I walked back over toward Demetri who was no longer alone. There was a very large vampire standing on his right, grinning in delight at the scene before him. He had shorter black hair and huge muscles that stretched his black t-shirt almost to bursting. On Demetri's left was a shorter vampire with light brown hair. He appeared to be rather bored by the scene in front of him, choosing instead to stare at me. Great, he probably wanted me too. Maybe he'd join the fight for my fucking body.

"Edward, this is Felix and Alec." The big one, Felix, gave me a fleeting glance before turning his gaze back to the women.

"This is the best assignment ever. I can't wait to tell Aro about it." Just then Bella flipped Victoria over and pinned her to the ground and started choking her, which was pretty fruitless when it came down to it but still really fucking hot.

"I told you she was magnificent." Demetri's eyes moved over my Bella like he was trying to memorize her. I growled and he chuckled. "Don't worry, friend, I know she's taken. It doesn't mean I can't appreciate the beauty that you have claimed as your own, does it?"

I kept my eyes on Bella, not willing to chance her getting hurt even though she clearly had the advantage at this moment. It only took one slip and she could be gone, a fact which terrified me to my very bones. I could feel the little vampire, Alec, burning holes in my back with his eyes. What the fuck?

"Where's your shirt?" The big one was talking to Demetri.

"On Bella. Hers was ripped and her man wouldn't allow her to fight with her beautiful breasts on display."

"Well, damn. Why do I miss all the good stuff?" Motherfuckers, talking about my girl's body like it was there for their enjoyment. She was mine, damn it.

"So, are you guys going to sit here or are you going to do what you came to do and take the crazy bitch away?" My words reflected my irritation and anger.

Felix laughed loudly and Bella actually broke concentration to look in his direction for a second, which allowed Victoria to buck her off. Both women were on their feet, gauging one another, and waiting for the other to attack at first opportunity.

"We won't be taking her anywhere." I knew what that fucking meant but I couldn't find it in me to care. "And frankly this is too much fun to finish too soon. We rarely get to see two beautiful women fighting. I only wish you had mud for them to roll around in." _I'd like to be in the middle of those two. I could show them that there are better ways to deal with their anger. It's a shame we have to finish the redhead; she would be wild in bed. Still, the brunette probably would do just as well. _I thought about starting my own fight with the fucker who was leering at my girl but he was bigger than me and there three of them. Too fucking bad.

Victoria sprang again and Bella ducked and took out her legs and pounced on her, smashing her head into the ground hard. Fuck, that was beautiful. My girl's fighting instincts were sheer perfection and I couldn't help but admire the ferocity with which she was landing blows on Victoria's face and chest.

_Heathens, both of them. He could do so much better. I should bring him to Italy and show him culture and refinement and beauty that rival only his. _Oh my ever living fuck, would this nightmare never end? Alec did want me. Demetri wanted Bella and Felix was torn between which crazy chick was hotter and wanted them both. All I wanted was for all four of them to vanish and Bella and me to live in fucking peace. Was that too fucking much to ask? This assault on my mind was almost too much to bear. I needed the quiet comfort that only Bella could provide me. I'd never again be fucking sorry that I couldn't hear her thoughts. Mindreading was a curse at times and this was one of them.

Victoria kicked Bella in the stomach and I was ready to wade in again but Bella only grunted and landed a chop across Victoria's neck that had her reeling. _I wish my twin were here. She could burn both of these women while I used my gift to bring him home with me. _I didn't know exactly what his gift was but in his mind I was completely frozen while he carried me onto an airplane so I knew it couldn't be good. I edged slowly back toward him, positioning myself next him in case he got the fucking urge to try to use his power against me. We'd see who could be faster. I'd end him before he finished the fucking thought.

He smiled as I settled next to him against the fencepost and his thoughts turned to all the places he'd like to touch me. I fought to keep from shuddering as I was mentally violated and kept my eyes on my girl.

"Your mate is astounding. However did you find her?" Demetri couldn't take his eyes off her either and it was fucking irritating but I smiled as I remembered the blushing the girl in the bar. That night had changed my life forever and it was chance that led me to Bella. Or maybe fate.

"Dumb luck. I met her friends at a bar when I was out on a hunt. Bella came in and she was the only girl in the room from the moment I laid eyes on her." She heard me, because I saw a little smile move over her lips as she flung Victoria across the yard.

"Perhaps you should give us the name of this bar. Maybe lightning will strike again." Demetri's tone held amusement but also a tinge of envy. I couldn't really blame him that. If he had Bella, I'd be one jealous vampire.

"Sure." Wouldn't it be funny as fuck if Demetri and Felix went there and met Alice and Rose? I had no doubt that they'd find them appealing. I'd even considered them briefly until Bella showed up and rendered them obsolete.

_Blind fool. Look at me. She is nothing. _Sorry, Alec, she is everything. I wanted to yell at him but I couldn't let these fuckers know about my gift. There was no way they wouldn't want to take me back to Italy with them if they knew that I could read minds.

"Stay away from my friends," Bella called over to Demetri while continuing to tussle with Victoria. She was amazing, throwing lightning quick punches and moving before Victoria could strike her back. Most of her return blows landed safely on the air, thankfully. My stomach was in complete knots and I really couldn't stand much more of this.

"I wouldn't think of harming your friends, lovely Bella. I just want to meet them and see if they're as fetching as you are."

Bella looked at him then and that split second was all it took for Victoria to bring her to the ground and put her foot on her arm. I was across the lawn before I actively thought of it, throwing myself at Victoria before she could pull Bella's arm off. I heard a popping noise and a yell and I turned my head frantically. Bella was clutching her shoulder but her left arm was still attached, thank God.

Victoria was underneath me, pinned to the ground and smiling up at me. "I knew you wanted me." Her body began to move below mine and I was fucking disgusted. It felt like I needed to throw up and I wanted to move away from her but at the same time I had to keep Bella safe.

Bella was on her feet in a flash and she grabbed Victoria by the leg and pulled her from under me. Victoria didn't seem to notice, her eyes still on mine and her hands reaching for me as Bella pulled her across the yard and dumped her in front of the Volturi fuckers.

"I believe this is what you're looking for. Take her and get yourselves the hell off our property."

Fuck, she was magnificent. Her hands were on her hips and she stared down all three men as if they were insignificant little worms instead of some of the most powerful vampires in the world.

Demetri gave her a placating smile. "Now, lovely Bella, we were just giving you the chance to get a little revenge on your mate's ex. I'm sure you have a lot of pent up aggression and we were more than happy to let you expend it. I'd like to let you expend it in other ways but I'm afraid that your Edward would be a bit perturbed if I tried."

I growled and got up and wrapped my arms around Bella. Victoria whimpered and reached for my ankle and Bella kicked her hard and sent her crashing into Felix's legs. He sighed and reached down to pull Victoria to her feet. She'd stopped struggling, looking at me with feverishly bright red eyes.

"Back the fuck off, Demetri. I think Bella's made it clear exactly where her heart lies."

He sighed and shook his head. "Fear not, friend, I know she's your mate. I just admire her fire and beauty. You were lovely to watch, my dear, and I apologize for not stepping in sooner. I was too overcome by your grace and skill to interfere. Know that if you were in danger, I would have acted." He bowed like the chivalrous jackass he was pretending to be and I scowled.

Bella laughed. "I know exactly what you were watching, and it wasn't my skill or grace. And you didn't act when I was in danger." Her eyes cut to me and she smiled. "He did. And that's one of the many reasons I love him. Now I suggest you and your friends take her and get the fuck out of here before I get mad all over again. And you see what happens when I get mad now, don't you?" She shot him a gleaming smile before turning back to me and wrapping her arms around my waist.

I held her to me tight and finally let out the breath I'd been unknowingly holding for God knew how long. "Scared me, baby."

"I know. I'm sorry. But when she tried to touch you…" Bella broke off and growled at the memory. Fuck that was hot. "I saw red. Nobody gets to touch you but me."

"Of course, love. Nobody touches me but you. You're my girl."

"She's not your girl! I am!" Victoria came out of her stupor and tried to lunge at me but Felix held firm and she couldn't move. He was a strong fucker that was for sure.

"Let's finish this, shall we?" Demetri made some sort of gesture and Alec moved to stand in front of Felix. As much as I hated Victoria, I really didn't want to watch her die. Bella looked up from my chest and pushed out of my arms.

"Wait!"

Demetri looked at her curiously. "What is it, beautiful Bella?"

"Not here."

"What? I thought you'd like to see her get her due."

Bella shook her head. "I don't want to see anyone die, not even her. And I certainly don't want you soiling my home with her ashes. Take her out of here. I don't care where you do it, but don't do it on our property."

She reached up and stroked my face with both hands. "This place is special to both of us and we don't need that kind of memory tainting it. Please, go."

Demetri gave Bella a bow again, ridiculous fuck that he was. "As you wish, dear Bella." He gestured to Felix who dragged Victoria down the driveway and Alec followed after giving me one final creepy ass stare. Thank fuck he was gone. "Remember, you are always welcome in Volterra. I truly hope the both of you will make the trip one day. We'd be delighted to show you our home."

"Thank you for respecting our wishes. If we decide to come to Italy, you'll be the first to know." She dismissed him by turning back to me and giving me a hot fucking kiss. I vaguely heard him mutter that I was a lucky bastard as he vanished in the direction the others had gone. I couldn't agree more with that assessment.

I picked Bella up and carried her into our house, which I was pleased to see what not fucking trashed. I'd feared Victoria had torn the place apart while waiting for us but thankfully that was not the case. I brought Bella upstairs and laid her on the bed and lowered myself on top of her, my lips moving over hers slowly.

I broke our kiss and looked down into her stunning face and her glowing eyes. "Thank you."

She furrowed her brow but still smiled at me. "For what?"

"For fighting for me and helping me face all the demons from my past."

"I'll always fight for you." She brushed my hair out of my face. "And you dealt with most of your demons on your own. I just kicked the shit out of one of them."

I laughed and nuzzled her neck. "Yes, you sure fucking did baby, but that's not what I meant. You gave me a home and a family, two things I never thought I wanted. No matter how many asses you kick, nothing will ever mean more than that."

Her eyes darkened and she kissed me hard again. "I'll always be your family and your home, Edward." Her words warmed my cold heart. "But just how many asses am I going to have kick?"

I laughed and kissed her cheek. "Countless, baby. That's what you get for falling in love with someone as hot as I am. There I was, trying to concentrate on making sure you were safe and I was assaulted by Alec's perverted thoughts."

She giggled and squirmed underneath me, making Edward Junior thrust against her. "I guess it's a good thing I have forever, then, if I'm going to have to kick that many asses."

I kissed her softly and she melted against me. Fuck, I loved how that felt. "How about we just stay here together and forget about the rest of the world?"

Bella grinned up at me. "I like that plan even better."

So did I. She was everything I'd ever need. My past was officially behind me. Carlisle, Esme, Grandfather, Victoria…none of them fucking mattered anymore. Bella was my world. Still, there was one thing…

"Bella?"

"Yeah?" She ran her hands down my back and gripped my ass. Fuck yes.

"Never mind." We had plenty of time for me to ask that particular question and she'd probably only said it because Victoria was wearing a wedding dress and it pissed her off. Maybe she didn't really want that.

She watched me for a moment and then shrugged. "Okay. Enough talking." Her hands got busy and so did mine but the thought continued to echo in my mind.

_Marry me._

_

* * *

_**A/N Yeah, I left it there. I know! But he's not quite ready yet, you know Smugs! Has to work around to it a bit. There are 2 more chapters left, both of them epilogues of sorts featuring some minor time jumps. I can't believe this story is almost over but it is. He's come a long way from where he started!**

**I hope you all enjoyed the throw down with Victoria. I thought about having Bella end her but that didn't feel right to me and I knew Smugs couldn't, even though he hates her. But there were plenty of blows, physical and mental. Thanks so much for reading the last regular chapter. Epi #1 in two weeks!  
**


	26. Epilogue 1

**A/N Guess what? I got wordy, pauses and hears the laughter of rameau all the way from Finland, and we're now going to have 3 epilogues! So two more chapters left instead of one. Hopefully that's good news to you all! More below!**

Taste of Innocence Epilogue #1

10 Months Later

"Bella, would you get a move on?" What the fuck was taking her so long? When had she become such a fucking girl?

"Are you really sure about this?" she called, her voice slightly muffled as she rifled through shit in the other room.

I rolled my eyes and reassured her for the fifteenth fucking time. "Yes, baby, I'm sure. We can do this."

Why the fuck was she so nervous? It wasn't her that had the weight of the world on her fucking shoulders right now. How could one tiny little ring feel like a gigantic boulder about to crush the fuck out of me? Right now it seemed like it was burning a hole through the pocket of my jeans, like the fucking fire opal had become real fire and was about to consume me.

I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths to try to calm the fuck down. It was just one simple little question. _Will you marry me?_ That wasn't so fucking hard to say, now was it? Now that I was fairly confident that she wanted it, that her answer would be yes, it was no big deal to force the words out. I could do this shit. I could ask her to be my wife.

It wasn't like she hadn't been putting out heavy fucking hints lately. She constantly had that fucking wedding channel on and made me watch those insane bitch brides going off on their friends and family as the pressure of the wedding brought out their insanity. I'd constantly had to ask her why the fuck anybody wanted to marry the women in the first place because the first time my would-be wife acted like that would be the last fucking time she'd be my would-be wife.

Bella, of course, would just fucking laugh and say that's why she'd never want a big wedding. Okay, baby, message fucking received. It's not like we had a shitload of people in our lives to invite anyway. We could invite her father, who now knew about me after she told him about Jacob "abandoning" her in Barbados, leaving her high and dry like the douche that he was. I had swooped in to rescue her, the knight in shining armor, which was quite fucking hilarious. He still wasn't happy with her but they talked weekly while she and I traveled the world, or so he fucking thought anyway.

Her friends were no longer really her friends. She'd spoken to Alice a time or two but the rift of their separation was a bit too much to overcome and though it hurt Bella, it was really better in the fucking long run. Alice would live a human life and die a human death and it would only hurt my girl to be a part of that. Rose had gotten knocked up by some one night stand and returned home to wherever the fuck she was from. I didn't really give a shit because she was unworthy of my Bella anyway.

Demetri and his Volturi fuck friends were a definite fucking no, even though he faithfully called us every couple of months to check in and make sure we were still doing well. What the fuck ever, like he wasn't the most transparent fucker in the world? We both knew what he wanted and neither of us was fucking fooled. The worst was when he'd put Alec on the fucking phone to tell me all about some ridiculous new piece of art featuring naked men that he adored. Like I was going to be fucking turned on by that? Please. They wanted us to visit and maybe someday we would but I really fucking doubted it.

No, it was just the two of us as it should be. After she said yes, I could just whisk her away to City Hall and we could be done with it in a matter of minutes. No fuss, no big fucking deal. Why the fuck did it have to feel like one?

"Bella, can we get a move on? If you don't pick out a fucking book, it'll be too dark to read it." Not that we couldn't read in the dark, but it would look a little fucking odd to be reading in Central Park in the middle of the fucking night. That might draw some attention.

She huffed and I finally heard the sound of a book being pulled from the shelf. She finally came out of the library, a scowl on her gorgeous face as she threw the book at my head. I caught it before it hit me and smirked at her. _"The Catcher in the Rye?_ My favorite?"

"Yes, not that you deserve it when you're being so damn impatient." She put her hands on her waist and I admired her form-fitting red sweater and black jeans. My girl was fucking hot.

I chuckled and stuck my fingers through her belt loops, pulling her to me. "Impatient, am I? It's been nearly a year and I'm finally taking you on our first date. I'd say that I took plenty of fucking time."

Bella tried to keep the scowl on her face but her lips twitched and then she giggled. "Maybe I should be mad at you for that instead of rushing me. What kind of boyfriend are you?"

I nuzzled her neck and nipped at her jaw. "The best kind. Plus, I would have taken you out long ago but you were afraid." Afraid was a fucking understatement. She'd been terrified that she'd hurt someone. We'd had to go on small excursions, to neighbor's farms first, then into the town for an hour or two, then a half day. She was finally ready to admit she could handle it and face society for real again. I was ridiculously fucking excited about it too.

Bella looked up at me, her golden eyes showing me her apprehension. Yeah, that was another fucking thing that had changed over time; her eyes had gone from ruby red to a yellow-gold color that looked eerily like the animals she killed every week. It had to be the animal blood that did it. My eyes had gotten close to that golden color a couple of times but trips to the city had them back to their normal red before I really got used to the change. I liked it on her though; she was stunning.

"Do you really think I can do this?"

I bent to kiss her and as always, she melted into me, her fingers finding my hair and tugging not too gently as the kiss went from soothing to hot as fuck in two seconds flat. I never stopped wanting her. If I had my way we'd be fucking every minute of the day but she generally limited me to four or five times. I made the best of it.

I pulled back and ran my thumb across her cheekbone. "I know you can, Bella. You can do anything. You fucking tamed me, didn't you?"

My words had their desired effect, making her laugh and shake her head. "I don't know if tamed is the right word."

"Oh yeah? What then?"

She bit her lip and shrugged. "I don't know, but I certainly haven't improved your language any."

"Sure you have. I say fuck about fifty percent less than I used to, mainly because I value my fucking body parts." I grinned as she giggled and gave me a half-hearted punch in the right shoulder. Yes, I did value my fucking body parts and she beat on me less these days because I did watch my fucking mouth. "Are you ready to go?"

Bella took a deep breath and nodded. "If you think I can do it, then I can do it."

"Damn right, baby." I reached for the blue contact lenses and then stopped. "What color do you want me to wear?"

She appeared delighted by the question, her face lighting up like I'd just asked her to marry me. Which I would be doing shortly, so she better look at least that fucking happy or I'd be pretty fucking pissed. "Green."

"Green, huh? Why?"

Bella licked her lips and gave me a sultry smile. "Because that's the color you wore when we met. I thought your eyes were gorgeous." I grinned at her and grabbed the green ones and popped them in.

"That wasn't all you thought was gorgeous." She smacked my arm and tried to turn away but I caught her fingers in mine and brought them to my lips and kissed each knuckle. Her eyes went black and I knew I could take her right then but I owed her this day.

"Let's go, Bella. It's high past time we had our first date." And it would be fucking memorable, that much I was sure about. How many girls got proposed to on their first date? I was one smooth fucking bastard that was for sure.

Our fingers linked and we made our way out to the car. I opened her door like the perfect fucking gentleman I could be and helped her into her seat while she laughed at my ass for trying to do things the way a normal guy would. Of course she had to fucking laugh at me.

The drive to the city was filled with Bella's nervous chatter. She kept taking deep breaths, trying to acclimate herself to all the human scents along the way. Just like I assured her, she handled that shit without a problem at all. Her first time around a human, two months ago, had been no big fucking deal at all. She'd eaten right before we ran to the nearest farm and watched some farmer plowing his field. He'd come within twenty feet of her and she'd not been remotely tempted to attack him. Her first time in town, she'd bought some books without batting an eyelash. I'd had more issues than she had, because I'd had to hear every man in the vicinity thinking about how beautiful she was and how they wanted to fuck her. If anybody had died that fucking day, it would have been at my hands, not hers.

I parked in the World Parking Garage and helped Bella out before grabbing a blanket, a picnic basket for show, an umbrella and her book. We walked hand in hand into the park; Bella's face was absolutely glowing with happiness as she looked around and took everything in. The day was overcast and there weren't a ton of people out on this rather cool September day, which was a good thing. I'd been ready to bring her for several weeks but the weather had been a giant pain in the ass to plan around. We couldn't sit under an umbrella all fucking day so we'd had to wait for the weather to turn in our favor.

We found a shady spot on a slight incline near a fountain not far from the Whitney Museum of American Art and we set up the blanket there. I sat down and Bella climbed in between my legs, resting her head on my chest as I leaned back against the tree and we people watched for awhile. It was fucking hard, dealing with all those loud, busy minds again but I grounded myself by burying my nose in her hair and letting her scent bring me peace.

Bella seemed perfectly content to lie in my arms and look at everything while I nuzzled her neck and held her close, letting Edward Junior press against her delectable ass. She chuckled a bit when I rubbed against her but didn't stop me so I did it again. She shot me a look then and grabbed her book and started reading aloud while I continued to watch the families strolling by.

Twice a dog caught our scent and went nuts but their owners gave us apologetic smiles and pulled them on their way. Bella just smiled and waved like she came here every fucking day and had that happen. She could finally be out and about with me and I fucking loved it.

Eventually we put the book down and walked to the fountain. Bella trailed her fingers through the cold water and flicked it at me while grinning. I just laughed at her. She was so fucking beautiful and everyone that saw her was nearly as awestruck by her as I was. I'd had to fight the urge to attack thirteen men and one woman so far but Bella's presence in my arms kept me calm.

"Why are you scowling at those teenagers?" Bella asked, tugging on my hand as I shot a death look at the fucking skateboarders that were mentally undressing my girl and covering her in tattoos and ridiculous fucking piercings. Her body was a fucking temple that didn't need decoration; she was perfect as is.

"Because they're thinking about you naked," I told her through clenched teeth.

She laughed and tightened her hold on my hand. "And just how many people have thought of you naked since we've been here?"

"That's irrelevant." Nineteen females and four males if I was keeping track, which I fucking was not. Damn my ability.

Bella hopped up from the concrete edge of the fountain and wrapped her arms around me, kissing me hard and sending every thought around me even further into the gutter. I shut them all out and just enjoyed the fact that she was mine. They could imagine all they fucking wanted; the reality was so much fucking better and it was all mine. Still, getting a ring on her finger couldn't be a bad thing and might actually deter one or two of them, maybe.

We kissed for who knew how long and I felt the ring pressing into her thigh and I hoped to fucking God she didn't know what it was. I had a plan and proposing to her in front of half the fucking city wasn't it. And there were eyes on us, I could feel them raking over our bodies even without the accompanying thoughts in their heads.

One image hit me hard and pissed me the fuck off. Oh yes, motherfucker, I dare you to come over and attempt to push me in the fountain and take my girl away from me. Please, do so. It would be my fucking pleasure to dismember you so quickly that nobody even saw it happen. A growl rumbled in my chest as the college boy that was imagining rescuing Bella from my nefarious clutches got to the part in his mind where he had her in his dorm room naked.

Bella pulled back and took my face in her hands, holding my gaze to hers instead of the bastard who was mentally kissing every inch of her body. _MY_ body. Maybe this whole going out thing was overrated. We should just stay at home with fucking Willow and pass the time as we had for the past year. It was sheer perfection; me playing my music, her reading; making love everywhere in and out of the house; watching movies, hunting together. Yeah the animal blood still tasted like crap but I could stomach it for her. I could stomach just about anything for her it seemed.

"Edward." Her golden eyes burned into mine. "Whatever they're thinking, it doesn't matter. You and me, always. Remember?"

Of course I fucking remembered. Didn't I have her engagement ring ready to put on her finger for eternity? She was right, though. The kid was not even on her radar and I had to try to ignore the shit he was thinking. I kissed her again and let my hands slide down to her ass, giving her a quick grope and shooting a look at the insignificant prick who thought he could take her away. He had the decency to at least look away when I stared him down and then he quickly scurried away. That's right, fucker. You better get lost.

I gave her a gentle push toward our blanket and she took the hint and headed back with my hand clutched tightly in hers. We sat back as we had been and went back to reading, Bella's voice amused as she took me through Holden Caulfield's adventures with all the fucking phonies. I laughed with her and held her to me. Life was fucking good. She was everything I never knew I wanted and more. My wife. Fuck if that didn't sound amazing. I'd never even wanted a wife when I was human but I wanted one now. Just the thought of my ring on her finger made me fucking hard.

"I can feel that, you know," Bella murmured, glancing at me over her shoulder as she wiggled her ass against the obvious bulge in my jeans.

"Damn right you can, baby. Anytime you like." She rolled her eyes and turned back to the book, making a point to keep moving against my cock because she lived to fuck with me. I fucking loved it.

I tightened my grip on her waist and helped her rub against me, because apparently I liked to fucking torture myself as well. There had to be somewhere I could take her for a quick fuck, didn't there?

_Excuse me, you're supposed to romancing the girl before you propose to her, not rubbing your fucking cock all over her like a dog in heat! _

Oh my fucking hell, look what the cat dragged in. What the fuck are you doing here?

_There was no need for me to be here before now. Now that you're fucking up what should be the most beautiful moment in a woman's life, I'm forced to come back to correct your stupid ass._

Excuse me? No need for you before now? Where the fuck were you when my crazy ex showed the fuck up and I had to deal with two spitting mad vampire women that both wanted my delectable body? And where were you when I pissed Bella off because she wanted me to get her a fucking bull so she could name it Xander and let it breed with Willow, like I was going to be on board with cows fucking all over the damn place? She didn't talk to me for a whole fucking week and wouldn't let me fuck her for another week after that!

A derisive sniff accompanied that statement. Motherfucker. I'm sorry I even once wanted you back. _Ahh but you did want me back. You missed me! I win!_

You win nothing, motherfucker. And I don't know why you're here now. Don't I have a ring? Aren't I planning on proposing to my girl under the stars and making an ass out of myself by getting down on one knee and all that bullshit?

_Yes, which is why I didn't think I'd have to show up but now you're ready to fuck her like that bull you're so against getting, just rutting like animals in a bathroom stall or some godforsaken place when you should be kissing her breathless under the stars and making slow love to her. _

I have done that. I will do that, not here, obviously, but in our meadow. We've spent countless nights out there doing just that. I can't fuck her in Central Park, it's never empty.

_I know and I actually love that you plan on proposing on your first date. It's incredibly romantic and very much unlike you. Rubbing your cock against her ass in public is sadly very much like you. I thought you'd learned but clearly you haven't._

I most certainly have and I'm not going to fuck her. Thinking about fucking her and actually doing it are two different things.

_Not so different for you, but I'm glad to hear you have some fucking restraint. Now stop rubbing against her like some pervert and let her enjoy the date. It is supposed to be a first date, not the fiftieth._

Go the fuck away, I don't need you. I've gone without you for months and I certainly don't need you now.

_If you thought I wasn't going to be here for the proposal than you're dumber than I ever thought. I'm the reason that you're here with her today. If it weren't for me she'd probably be living in Italy with that yummy Greek and…_

Don't you throw that motherfucker in my face ever again. She's mine; she wants me, not him.

_Clearly there's something wrong with her. But that's okay, everyone makes mistakes. Especially you. Don't fuck this up or I will be back and I've got a whole arsenal of new love songs for you._

Oh fucking no, I don't think so. You just sit back and watch how it's done. I can handle this without you.

_We'll see. _

Smug little know-it-all prick. I would prove to him and more important to Bella that I could be romantic and give her the perfect night and the perfect fucking proposal.

I stopped rubbing Edward Junior against Bella's perky ass and contented myself by playing with her hair and nibbling on her neck from time to time, which she clearly fucking liked because she'd tilt her head to give me better access and press harder against me, probably wanting my cock to rub against her ass because Bella loved fucking me just as much as I loved fucking her. But no, I was going to fucking behave because she deserved to have a memorable, romantic proposal. That didn't mean douchewad was right, just that I was giving her something better. Not that there was anything better than my cock, but I was going to behave anyway.

Darkness started to fall and Bella, maintaining our human ruse, closed the book and relaxed further into me. We watched as the humans started making their way home, the crowd thinning considerably and changing as well. The families were replaced by slightly more ominous characters; bums, the occasional drug dealer, hoodlums. That wasn't an issue for us but I could see why normal humans got out before night fell.

We got quite a few looks but nobody was stupid enough to start shit with us, which was lucky for them, of course. Bella seemed perfectly content in my arms and she laughed as I made up constellations for her.

"That's the virgin right there. See that group of stars that looks like a girl with her legs crossed?" Bella squeezed my knee as she laughed at my description. "And over there, see? There's Willow!" The grouping of stars did look sort of like Bella's silly cow and she giggled and nodded happily.

"Too bad there's not a friend for her," she said, shooting me a look over her shoulder. And we were back to that fucking argument.

"Bella, we're not getting a bull. They're far more temperamental and the damn thing will probably try to attack us if we get near it. If you insist upon getting another animal, we'll get another fucking cow."

She studied me for a minute and then a huge grin lit up her face. "Tara!" Oh my fucking hell, now we were going to have lesbian cow lovers. Of course we were. Yes, I fucking knew who Tara was because she had gotten me to watch the whole fucking series with her. There were not words for what I'd endured to get through all that. She'd bribed me with sex which was the only way I managed it. Sex got me through a lot of fucking things.

"Fine." She threw her arms around me and of course it made me feel all warm inside so I couldn't even be annoyed about the fucking lesbian cows. Only Bella.

"Speaking of cows, that one over there looks like Jenks. See the big gut and the balding head? We'll call that the Jenks Constellation."

Bella followed my finger and giggled. "Am I ever going to meet the famous Jenks? You yell at him on the phone enough, I feel like I know him."

"Maybe." Actually that was a yes. I had some papers I'd need to sign sooner rather than later if she married me. We'd need it to be a matter of public record and get her name down as a co-owner for CEI. If anything ever happened to me I wasn't about to leave her penniless. We'd talk about that on another night though. Tonight wasn't about business, it was about love.

"That one looks like a book!" Trust my Bella to find a book in the sky.

"There's the dear you killed on Tuesday night, laying on its side." Bella elbowed me in the gut and I laughed. "Sorry, baby, it's Bambi taking a little nap. Totally alive and not drained of all its blood."

Bella pouted and tried to turn back around but I kissed her and it wasn't long before her arms were back around me and she was straddling my waist. Fuck yes. This was more like it. I put my hands on her hips and pulled her closer to me and we were pretty much dry humping in the middle of the park against a tree. It wasn't long before some hoots and hollers penetrated both our consciousness and we broke off. There were several perverted fuckers watching us, so I moved Bella off my lap and over to my left side, my arm wrapped around her and her head resting against my chest. My glare must have deterred them from hanging around and they scurried away into the darkness to do their dealing. Perverted assholes.

Bella laughed lightly and I turned to look at her. "What?"

"A little over a year ago those men would have petrified me. Now I could turn my back on them and knew they weren't remotely a threat to me. It's really kind of…" she broke off, unsure how to finish I guess.

"Intoxicating? Sexy? Power-affirming?" I finished for her. It was all those things and more.

She bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah. I guess it kind of made me hot to know that I could kill them if I wanted to."

I chuckled and gave her waist a squeeze. "Well you finally get it, baby."

"Get what?"

"What it means to be a vampire. This is what I've been trying to tell you since you woke up."

She frowned and looked off in the direction the men had vanished. "I don't want to kill them, exactly. But if they'd tried to mess with us, well, I think I could have."

"Just knowing you can feels good, doesn't it?" I was fascinated that my girl was starting to embrace her darker side a little bit. Yeah, she wasn't going to kill anyone but at least she admitted that knowing she could was fucking hot.

"I suppose so. Does that make me a bad person?" She looked up at me with wide eyes.

"Of course not, baby. Knowing what you can do and choosing not to shows you're a very good person. I, on the other hand…" I gave her a feral smile and she laughed and flicked my nose.

"You're good, Edward."

I laughed loudly. "I'm better than good, baby." I leered at her and she smacked my chest.

"You know what I mean, pervert. You're a good person, more or less."

"A little less than more."

"Not true." She shook her head emphatically.

"Bella, I still kill people."

"But long ago, before I came along to fix you," I cut her off with another bark of laughter and she curled her lip at me. "You made the choice to only kill those that, in your eyes, deserved it. You could have gone Victwhoria's route, but you didn't. I'm proud of you for that."

"You weren't always."

"Well, you were a pain in the ass then." She grinned at me and I felt myself smiling back. Fuck, this girl was absolutely astounding.

"I was the pain? That's not quite how I remember it."

"Well you don't see yourself very clearly." She giggled when I poked her in her side.

"Says the girl who was an insecure, jealous mess? I am well aware of who I am, baby."

"Maybe you are and maybe you aren't. You've changed a lot." Bella shot me a toothy grin and crossed her arms under her beautiful breasts, causing me to lose focus a little.

I started to scoff at that but I knew she was right. "Maybe a little. Just polished the rough edges off is all, sweetheart."

"Rough edges? Try jagged points! Very sharp ones that could do a lot of damage."

I scooped her into my lap and kissed her soundly. "Never to you, baby."

"I know that, too." Her confidence in that fact was echoed in her tone and I fucking loved that. My girl had faith in me. What more did I need?

"I love you, Bella."

She reached up and put her hand on my face, smiling up at me. "I love you, too, Edward."

Now was the time. Maybe I wasn't on my knees but my girl was in my fucking arms and she was giving me her heart. I could give her mine and I knew she'd keep it safe. I didn't believe in that being on the knees shit anyway; she already knew she owned me.

"Baby, there's something that I've wanted to ask you for awhile and well, it had to wait until tonight."

Her fingers continued to move over my face as she waited patiently for me to continue.

"I never thought I'd ever want eternity with someone and then you came along and I can't imagine it without you." Bella smiled and kissed me. I kissed her back, loving how I felt when her lips moved against mine. I pulled back and brushed her hair away from her face. "And now, that's not all."

Bella giggled and shook her head. "I can't imagine what more you could give me."

"Well it's a good thing that I have an unlimited imagination."

She grinned. "I've enjoyed it." Look at my girl, making sexual fucking jokes. Of course it wasn't appropriate when I was about to ask her to marry me but it sure fucking worked for me.

I laughed. "As have I. But that's not quite what I was referring to either. I…"

Bella put her finger over my lips and cocked her head. "Do you hear that?" Hear what, exactly? I could hear every person in or around the park, their words and their mundane thoughts. This one was hungry, that one was horny, that one was looking for a score; on and on it went.

"I heard a cry."

I listened for a minute but didn't hear a cry or a thought relating to one. "I don't hear it. Now, listen, Bella, what I was trying to say was…"

_Stupid fucking bitch. _Oh shit. I saw it clearly in his mind. He'd been at dinner with his wife and she'd had the nerve to fucking smile at the waiter when he came to take their order. _Flirting with that bastard right in front of me. Does she think she can leave me? Me? She belongs to me. I'll fucking show her just who she belongs to. I'll remind her as soon as we get home. _I flinched as the images filled my mind of him hitting her, over and over. With his fists, a belt, whatever was at hand.

For her part, she knew exactly what was coming and she didn't seem to care. _It's my fault. I shouldn't have smiled. I knew it would set him off and I did it anyway. I'm so stupid. _Oh, he had her fucking trained alright. She was ready to take her punishment and move on until the next beating came.

"What is it, Edward? What do you hear?" Bella put her hand on my arm and squeezed it to get my attention.

"A guy and a girl, cutting through the middle of the park on their way home. He's going to beat her for smiling at their waiter." Rage was clear in my voice. The girl was fucking tiny, with big brown eyes that reminded me of the girl that was safely at my side right now.

Bella gasped and her fingers dug into my arm almost painfully. "You have to go help her."

What? Jesus fucking Christ, I was supposed to be sliding a ring onto her finger right now, not going to tear apart some human. "But baby, I…"

"We'll have other dates. Actually, if you think about it, this is the perfect way to end our evening. It's what vampires do, right?" She sent me the cutest smile and got to her feet, pulling me to mine. "I'll meet you at the car. I can't be there when, well, you know."

I was actually fucking amazed she was telling me to go end someone. My girl was a constant fucking revelation. "Are you sure?"

She reached up and touched my face. "I'm sure. Go. This was a great date and now you should have some dinner." She smirked at me. Fuck, I loved her.

"I fucking love you."

"I fucking love you, too. Now go, free her." I didn't know if the girl would fucking thank me but I knew I wouldn't be able to get her out of my mind if I let him take her home and beat her either.

Bella gave me a quick kiss and started folding the blanket. I watched her for a second before taking off, heading toward my target. She was right, there'd be another time. So much for planning the perfect proposal. I'd figure something out, after I drained the life out of a certain lowlife motherfucker. Somehow, some way, Bella would be my wife. I'd make damn sure of it.

* * *

**A/N 2: Yes, now I'm a ringblocker! But you know Smugs can't have it go as planned! Where's the fun in that? We'll see if he's successful next chapter! I hope you enjoyed the return of IMF and the possible addition of Tara to the little family. One cow is just not enough!**


	27. Epilogue 2

**A/N I'll say more below, but I just wanted to say how excited I am to post this chapter. It may be my favorite so far. Hope you think so too!**

Taste of Innocence Epilogue #2

"Just how much shit do you need to pack, Bella?" She was a whirlwind of activity, stuffing a huge suitcase full of all her new clothes, all the while scowling at them as if they'd insulted her in some way, simply by being expensive as fuck.

"I don't know what I'll need. I can't believe you're making me go." She stomped back to the closet again and started rifling through her hangers.

"If you didn't want to go, you wouldn't have told me about it in the first place," I pointed out, fucking calm and rational as all hell despite the fact that she was raging at me.

"That's not true!" She whirled back from the closet and pointed an accusing finger at me. "I only told you because…" she broke off, because of course she had no fucking answer because I was fucking right.

I walked over and looped my arms around her waist and pulled her to me. If she'd have been truly pissed she would have hit me but she didn't, burrowing against my chest and holding me close. She was nervous, I fucking got that. What she didn't realize was that I was even more nervous because I knew what else was going to happen and it scared the living shit out of me.

I'd tried, three fucking times I'd tried to give her romantic proposals but shit always went wrong. At the park, of course, when she'd elected to send me off to kill someone instead of to propose to her, not that she fucking knew that was what I was going to do, but still. In the bathtub, with fucking candles and flowers and shit when I'd inadvertently made a derogatory remark about her fucking cow and set her off and finally in the meadow, under the stars, right after making love; her fucking father called and she just had to talk to his ass. Something was out to get me each and every fucking time I tried to propose and I was fucking sick of it so I'd taken matters into my own hands. We were getting married this fucking week if it killed us both. The rings were in my pocket and we were getting this shit done, pronto.

"You told me because you want to go and lord it over them all. Show them just how over them you really fucking are baby. How strong and confident and beautiful you've become and what a fantastically gorgeous man you managed to land. You want them all to drown in their envy and believe me when I tell you that they fucking will."

She snorted against my chest and peeked up at me. "Fantastically gorgeous?"

"Incomparably handsome? Hot as fuck? Devastatingly stunning? What adjective would you like, baby?" I gave her a wide grin and she hit me lightly on the arm.

"Yeah, sure." But her lips were twitching and I knew I was fucking right, like usual.

"Plus you want to see your dad. And of course he wants to look over the man that swept you off your feet." She rolled her eyes at that but we both knew it was fucking true. "This way we go, you see him, you show your former classmates what fucktards they are and we come home."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "You're not going to kill them, are you?" Damn that fucking promise I'd made.

"I said I wouldn't and I meant it. I won't lay a hand on those assholes. They're not worthy of being touched by me."

She continued to look at me suspiciously. "What about teeth? You're not going to use those on them either?"

I laughed. Trust her to think I'd try to find a loophole. I mean, I fucking would, but I was going to let them live. What I had planned was a billion times better than killing them outright.

"I said I wouldn't kill them and I meant it baby."

She nodded. "Alright then. What about Willow?"

"Bella, she's a fucking cow, she'll be fine. We've left enough food for twenty cows, not just two." Yes, fucking two. Tara was being delivered right before we left. I fucking gave in, as usual, to make her happy. "Mrs. Manningham is going to stop by to check on them. Everything will be fine." I couldn't believe I fucking knew our neighbor and that she was going to stop by to check on our damn cows. My life was officially fucking insane but I loved it.

"What if she and Tara don't get along?" Bella bit her lip like a fretting mother hen which made me laugh hard. She was so fucking cute and ridiculous. I loved her.

"They're cows, baby. I have never heard of cows fighting. They're not cats and dogs. They're fucking cows."

Of course that was entirely the wrong thing to say and she fixed me with one of her heated glares that made Edward Junior spring quickly to life. "Are you saying cows don't have feelings? Are you saying that Willow doesn't love me?"

Fucking Christ, that argument again? I'd fucking learned my lesson last time though. A week of no sex had learned that lesson well. "Of course I'm not saying cows don't have feelings. We both know she prefers you to me." That made no fucking sense whatsoever since she was a female and even fucking cows should recognize male perfection when they were faced with it.

Bella was slightly mollified and turned away to continue packing. She'd been so fucking worried about her father and her former classmates noticing how much she'd changed that I'd taken her out and bought her a shitload of new clothes and make up and crap. I figured she was about to be married to one of the richest fucking men in the country so we could explain any changes from going to fancy salons and shit. You'd have thought I was torturing her the way she acted about the fucking clothes. She'd taken to calling me Alice on the shopping excursions, which I knew she meant as an insult, but since when was looking good a fucking bad thing? I bought myself some new shit as well and I looked fine as hell. We were a stunning pair and her classmates were going to fucking die when they saw how well she'd done for herself.

She packed one more shirt and pulled the suitcase closed. "I'm ready," she muttered.

I chuckled and leaned down to kiss her. "It'll be the best week of your life, Bella. I promise you that." At least I fucking hoped so. She wouldn't say no when I asked her, would she?

_Asked her? Since when were you going to fucking ask her? Aren't you telling her? I seriously cannot believe you're still this fucking stupid._

I'm not stupid. I tried to fucking ask her three times and it didn't work. I'm still going to ask, more or less.

_Ask? Try ambush._

Some girls would consider it romantic.

_Yes, gold-digging whores would be quite thrilled by your idea of a proposal. Last time I checked, Bella wasn't either of those things._

You don't have a fucking clue what you're talking about. I tried to do it your way and it bit me on the ass each time. Now we're doing it my way. She'll be thrilled.

_Don't come crying to me when she fucking rips your head off. At least then you'll finally have some sense knocked into you._

Look here, douchetard, I've done just fine without you for the past year. I don't need you now.

_What you call fine, I call marginally functional. A little less retarded than usual. Should you be congratulated for that?_

Yes, I fucking should. She's still here, isn't she? She still loves me.

_Against all odds and probabilities._

Oh, fuck off. I know what I'm doing.

"Edward." She was tugging on my hand and watching me intently. Fuck, he'd taken me away from her yet again. So much for his fucking advice on romance. Dick.

"Sorry, baby, just thinking."

"Is everything okay? Because if you don't want to go, we don't have to." She sounded a little disappointed but I knew she'd suck it up for me if she thought I wasn't willing. She wanted to see her father. The reunion held little interest for her, I knew, but I really thought it would be good for her.

"No, baby. I want to go. I do have a little surprise for you." Fucking understatement of the century right there.

"What surprise?" She eyed me suspiciously, her golden eyes narrowed.

"We're going to make a little stop on the way."

She put her hands on her hips. "What kind of stop?" What? Like she thought I was going to stop and kill an orphanage full of kids or something? Jeez.

"We're stopping in Chicago to see Jenks. I have some papers to sign and shit."

_Shit's the right word. Your supposed proposal is going to be shit._

Fuck off! I'm doing it right.

_Right? You may as well be purchasing her; making her one of your assets. Jackass._

Don't you dare fucking imply that Bella is some kind of item to me. You know she's my entire fucking world. You can go the fuck to hell. Get the fuck out of my head, now.

_Alright, maybe I said that wrong but…_

No buts. You insulted my soon-to-be wife. She's worth more than everything I own, than you and I combined. You do not get to imply that I'm buying her love and affection. Go the fuck to hell.

"Are we going?" She tapped her foot impatiently and I kissed her quickly again.

"Yes, we're going." Going to get married. I fought back the excitement and nerves and took her hand and led her to the car. This was going to be one epic fucking trip that much I knew.

Xoxoxoxox

"I can't believe I finally get to meet Jenks!" Bella bounced excitedly in the plane. She'd been silent for most of the flight, just taking in the view and enjoying the fuck out of my private jet. She'd been extremely fucking cute, turning on the TV and pouring a useless drink that remained untouched just so she could say that she had one. Eventually she'd returned to the cockpit to sit next to me and watch the scenery down below.

"Yeah, well he's quite interested to meet you as well," I muttered. Jenks had been his usual moronic, questioning fucking self when I called him with my list of needs for this visit. I almost couldn't blame him, seeing as what I'd asked of him was even unexpected to me but still, he should keep his fucking questions to himself if he wanted to continue to live. To say he was interested in meeting Bella was no doubt an understatement though. He knew what a big fucking deal this was. Hopefully she would realize it too.

"What kind of business do you have to meet with him about?" she asked, still looking out the windows instead of at me, which was a good fucking thing since she was the business we were meeting about. I wondered if I should tell her that or go with my initial plan and spring it on her.

_Moron._

Stop fucking hissing at me. I told you to leave. Not another fucking word.

"Just some papers that need to be signed and stuff." That was fucking true. I was adding her as a co-owner of CEI. If anything fucking happened to me, she needed to be protected and this was something that was more than easy to do for her. I'd already set her up several bank accounts but this would ensure she was taken care of for her entire existence. I was responsible for her and even if I didn't love her more than anything in the world, I would have made sure to take care of her. It was the right fucking thing to do. I just hoped she saw that and didn't fucking freak out on my ass like she usually did when I tried to give her shit she hadn't specifically indicated she wanted. She happily took her fucking cow from me but when I bought her a diamond bracelet she acted like I'd given her a fucking spider or some damn thing. Crazy, infuriating, fascinating woman. Was it any wonder I fucking loved her?

"Okay, that doesn't sound too bad. Are we staying for long?"

"No." My voice was edgy, as it always was when I thought of my first home. Home. That was a fucking laugh.

She turned to steady me. "You hate Chicago, don't you?"

I shrugged. "I suppose I fucking do. I can't say I have a lot of happy memories there."

"Well, why not move the company somewhere else?"

I'd considered that more times than I cared to count but I always came to the same fucking answer. "Because that's where he started the company and that's where I took it over and made it into one of the most powerful companies in the world. It's my own little way of saying 'fuck you' to the old man."

She reached out and linked her hand with mine. "I get it, but remember he can't do anything to you now."

I smiled at her and brought our joined hands to my lips. "I know, baby. You're the only family I need." Which is why I want you to marry me. "It's just very well established there and I only have to go now and then so it seems pointless to move it."

She nodded. "Okay. Whatever makes the most sense."

If I had my way, Chicago would soon be home to my happiest memory. I got permission to land at O'Hare and brought the plane down smoothly. A limo was waiting for us and I helped Bella into it. In true Bella fashion, she was all sorts of excited about being in a limousine.

"Do you travel like this often?"

I smiled at her and shook my head. "No, usually I make Jenks come and get me or take one of my own cars. I thought you'd get a kick out of this though." And she did. She stuck her head out of the sunroof at one point and she played with every button and gadget that she could. Sometimes she was amazingly mature for her age but others she could let down her guard and be a happy fucking kid. I loved both aspects of her. Then again, I loved something else too.

"Did you ever want to fuck in a limo, baby?" She slapped my leg and turned on the TV which I could take as a fucking insult but I elected not to. I doubted she wanted to fuck with someone else in the car anyway. I sat back and closed my eyes, not wanting to watch the city flash by. I fucking hated it here and I hoped I didn't have to come back anytime soon. I felt Bella's hand on my leg and I smiled a little when she stroked my thigh. My girl always knew when I was upset.

Her hand crept a little higher and my eyes flashed open as her fingers moved over Edward Junior. Holy fuck, was she really? My jeans button flipped open and my zipper was down and suddenly her strong fingers were wrapped around my cock and she was stroking me hard while watching me intently. She bent down and licked the head and fuck yes, my girl always knew exactly what I fucking needed. I arched my hips toward her and she took my cock into her mouth. I groaned at the sensation of her sexy little tongue moving against the underside of my shaft as she took me in and out of her mouth.

"Fuck, baby, that feels incredible." She made some noise of agreement as her head bobbed faster. My eyes rolled back into my head when she deep throated me and then she pulled back and released me which made me dig my fingers into the seat. She grinned and yanked down her jeans and panties and oh thank fucking God she wasn't done with me. She straddled my waist and took my cock inside her, her tight pussy enveloping a very grateful Edward Junior.

I was extremely close to coming so I held her hips and pulled her to me hard as I thrust fast inside her. She moaned softly as I pressed a finger to her clit, moving fast circles against it that matched the pace of my cock thrusting inside her. She threw back her head and I leaned forward to suck on that gorgeous spot where I'd made her mine forever. She rode me hard and fast and it wasn't long before we were both coming. I held her to me when we were done, still joined and just loving having her in my arms.

"Thank you."

She giggled and kissed my neck. "You looked like you needed something to take your mind off where we were."

"That is by far the best way to do so, baby." I tilted her head up and kissed her softly. "I love you."

Bella grinned up at me. "I love you, too." I was acutely aware of the rings in pocket in that moment. I really hoped she liked my fucking surprise. Why wouldn't she though? She loved me and I was asking her to marry me.

_Asking my ass. More like informing her. _

I'm ignoring you. I kissed Bella again and then buried my face in her neck, inhaling her beautiful scent. She calmed me in a way I'd never thought possible.

The car started to slow and I pulled back and glanced out the window. "We're here, baby." My stomach tightened in automatic reaction to where I was and what I was about to do. Bella got off my lap and pulled back on her clothes while I fastened my jeans. The driver got out and opened the door and we stepped onto Wacker Drive in front of the sleek skyscraper that housed CEI.

"Wow, is that your building?" Bella asked softly, sliding her hand into mine and staring up at the giant glass building in awe.

I actually fucking smiled at her reaction to my building. "Yes, I had it built about thirty years ago." I led her inside and we walked past the gawking doorman and the receptionist in the lobby and entered the elevator. I pressed for the 52nd floor and Bella's jaw dropped open.

"Fifty floors?"

"Fifty three, actually. Jenks' office is on the 52nd. The 53rd actually belongs to me, or whichever Edward Cullen happens to be the CEO at the moment."

She glanced around the elevator and shook her head. "This is amazing."

"What is?" She was so fucking cute, taking it all in.

"I mean, I guess intellectually I know you have a lot of money. You bought our house without batting an eyelash. But we're sort of insulated from it on a daily basis, aren't we?"

"You are. I do actually check on things every day baby. I watch the stock market, buy and sell when needed, hack into the computers of my employees to make sure I'm not being cheated in any way, and call Jenks for briefings. I'm removed from it but I'm on top of it."

Bella looked up at me with a rueful smile. "I guess that doesn't surprise me."

"I would have told you if you wanted to know. I'll happily include you in all my businesses." I was fucking thrilled she was showing any kind of interest to be honest.

"I wouldn't mind learning a little about what you do." Fuck yes; she was going to agree to what I had planned, I knew it.

"I'll show you, baby."

The elevator finally arrived at our destination and we stepped off onto the plush blue carpeting. Jenks' secretary had apparently been briefed that I was in the building and she greeted me with a bright smile.

"Mr. Cullen! It's so good to see you again. Mr. Jenks is waiting for you inside." I smirked as I heard his panicked thoughts from the other room. _Don't say anything stupid this time. He's here and he might not kill you because his girlfriend is with him but you don't want to take that chance. Just be calm, be smart and be polite. You can do this._

Some fucking pep talk, Jenks. I grinned at Bella and gestured at the secretary, Irina or whatever the fuck her name was, to open the door. She did and I tried not to laugh at how fucking pale and sweaty Jenks already was in his ugly brown suit. Who the fuck made suits in turd brown and why would anybody fucking buy one? Jenks, of course, had shitty taste in just about everything, so it shouldn't surprise me. His wife had been a royal bitch of the first degree, his daughter hated him but he hadn't a fucking clue and he had the misfortune of working for me. Bella felt sorry for him when I told her. Of course she fucking did. He had made his choice though and it served him well, monetarily at least.

"Jenks. This is Bella. Bella, this is Jenks."

She elbowed me and released my hand to offer hers to him. His nervous brown eyes flew to mine as he tentatively took her hand in his and gave it the quickest shake he could before releasing her. "It's a delight to meet you, Miss Swan." _She's beautiful; far more beautiful than the girl in the picture last year. Perhaps he met her after. Who in the hell was that other girl?_

Wisely he didn't ask any of his questions out loud, turning to me and giving me a fucking bow, or something close to it, bending over with his portly stomach hanging out. What the fuck? Were we in Japan? "Mr. Cullen. Always good to see you." I smirked at that and Bella fucking elbowed me again. I guess she wasn't going to hit me in front of him. That was a good fucking thing, especially if my gift set her off.

"Jenks. I trust you have everything ready?" I raised a brow and he wiped the sweat off his forehead and waddled back to his desk and started shuffling papers.

"Yes, sir. When you're ready to sign everything I'll call Irina in to be a witness, unless of course you have someone else that you've invited to this most wonderful occasion?" Bella's brow wrinkled in confusion and I just barely resisted the urge to punch Jenks' fucking big mouth.

"Irina will do. Leave us for a few minutes." He moved as quickly as his chubby legs could carry him out the door, closing it quickly and breathing a deep sigh of relief as soon as he was out of our presence.

"Do you have to be such a dick to him?" Bella hissed, turning on me and spitting fire. Fuck, I'd pissed her off already and she didn't even know why we were here.

"Yes, it's what he responds best to," I replied, rolling my eyes at her.

"Have you ever tried any other method of communicating with him?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips and looking fucking delectable. I wondered if I could fuck her against the huge glass windows before Jenks came back in.

"No, why would I? It's effective." She glared at me and started to walk to take in the view but I grabbed her hand and pulled her back to me. "If I try to be polite to him, do you promise to hear me out when I explain to you what we're doing here?"

She eyed me for a minute. "What do you mean?"

Tell her or show her? Knowing Bella, she'd rather read and absorb it than anything else. I reached across Jenks' desk and handed her the papers he'd gotten together. "Read this and you'll see."

Bella sighed and started to read through the papers. I couldn't stand to watch her blank expression so I walked to the window and looked out at the city. It was overcast, which was why we'd stopped here today, and I could see Lake Michigan in the distance. Bella didn't know it, yet, but I actually owned a fuckload of buildings in this city. It was something I'd felt compelled to do, to own the city my grandfather so loved. He couldn't own it, but I did.

She was silent and still behind me and I knew she had to have at least gotten to her name somewhere within the stack of documents. I peaked back at her and she was sitting in one of Jenks' leather chairs continuing to leaf through the papers. I turned all the way around and took a step toward her and then she finally looked up and pinned me with her deep, golden gaze.

"Is this what I think it is?" Trust her to ask me some obscure fucking question to try to make me say what it was when it was clearly stated right the fuck in front of her. There might be plenty of legalese in there but it sure as fuck said that Isabella Swan was being given 40% interest in CEI, matching my 40%. The other 20% was made up of shareholders.

"What do you think it is?"

"I think it's you giving me half your business," she replied, continuing to watch me intently. I couldn't read her tone but at least she wasn't outwardly pissed yet.

"Yes, that's what it is."

"Why?"

Why? What the fuck kind of ridiculous question was that? "Because, should anything ever happen to me, you need to have something to fall back on. This is that."

She glared at me then. Fuck, she was so hot when she was mad. "Nothing's going to happen to you." There was fear in her voice along with anger.

"Of course not, baby, but it never hurts to have a backup plan."

"So that's all this is? A backup plan, in case something happens?" Well, what the fuck, of course that wasn't all it was but I shrugged in answer. Let her think whatever the fuck she wanted as long as she was protected.

"There's a typo in the document," she told me, sitting back and crossing her legs.

Figures. Fucking Jenks. "I can have him fix it before you sign, no problem baby." If that was all, we could get the fuck on with it.

"The typo is repeated over and over," she replied, an edge to her tone that I didn't quite recognize but I sure as fuck didn't like.

"So, Jenks is a moron who doesn't use spell check. No problem, Bella. We'll get him to fix it."

"Don't you want to know what it is?" she asked, continuing to watch me with that unreadable expression. She hadn't been so locked down since I first fucking told her I loved her. This fucking sucked.

"It doesn't matter. He'll fix it and we'll sign and be all set." I had other fucking things to do, like figure out how to ask her to marry me and inform her that Jenks was ready to perform the ceremony whenever we were ready.

She got up and walked over to me, bringing the papers with her and thrusting them into my chest, rather fucking hard. "Read," she told me, stabbing me in the chest with her pointer finger.

"Fuck, baby, calm down. Whatever it is can't be that fucking bad." She hissed and I took the papers and started skimming them. Lots of heretofores and whatnots, a list of all the assets we had, blah blah fucking blah, hereby giving Isabella Cullen equal majority share in...oh, fuck. I felt my heart drop. Of course he'd used her new last name in the documents. I hadn't even fucking thought about, especially since he'd called her Miss Swan when they first met.

"Do you see the typo, Edward?"

Fuck. This was hardly how I planned for it to go, but I was well and truly fucking stuck now. Guess I'd just fucking go with it. I looked up at her and saw she was boiling fucking mad now. This should be fun.

"There is no typo," I replied, waiting for the inevitable explosion.

"What?" she screeched, her eyes snapping fire at me.

"You heard me."

"So Isabella Cullen is correct?" Fuck, I loved the sound of that coming out of her mouth.

"Well yes, though I intend to still call you Bella. Isabella is your legal name so it only makes sense to use it in formal documents."

"My last name is not Cullen," she replied through clenched teeth. Here we fucking go.

"Not yet, but I'm hoping we can fix that."

_Holy fuck, is that how you're proposing? Not even taking her to your office for some private discussion? Just a nonchalant 'I was hoping we can fix that?' I wash my hands of you, I really fucking do._

Nobody asked you. Bella was staring at me like I'd just grown a second head, her mouth wide open. I really wanted to make a fucking crude remark but I fought it because she was mad enough already.

"Fix it? My last name is something that needs to be fixed?" She finally found her words and she was really quite pissed off. Was the most important fucking question of my life not hanging in the balance I'd be laughing right about now.

"No, not exactly. I just think my last name would better suit you." I shot her a winning smile.

"So I'm just legally changing my name? What the fuck does that make you, my brother?" I winced at that image and reached for her but she smacked my arms away from her and started pacing.

"Of course not. It makes me your husband." There, the fucking word was out. Now just say yes and we can get on with this.

She stopped pacing and placed her hands on the back of the chair she'd been sitting in. "You want us to have a pretend marriage so I can run your company with you and inherit it if something goes wrong?"

Was she being deliberately fucking obtuse or just trying to piss me off as well? "No, I want us to have a real fucking marriage with rings and I do's and all the promises and bullshit that everyone has." Now I was fucking yelling because I hated when she pretended she didn't understand what the fuck I was trying to say.

Bella let out a soft scream and hurled Jenks' chair at me. I ducked it and dived behind his desk as the second one crashed against the glass. Good fucking thing it was bulletproof. I heard it splinter but the glass didn't break. "Damn it, Bella, don't destroy the fucking office." Jenks' computer went flying off his desk, smashing against the wall. I scrambled around the desk and held up my hands in a gesture of surrender.

_Should I call the police? Mr. Cullen might kill me but I won't have him hurting his fiancée. _Fuck, like I was the one doing the hurting? "Jenks, everything is fine. We need a few more minutes," I shouted.

"A few more minutes!" she shrieked, hurling pens at me that I managed to catch before they got stuck in the wall. "You think you can propose to me via legal document and it'll take just a few minutes to fix it? You stupid asshole!" A paperweight came flying next and I caught that just before it smashed into my nose. Thank God for vampire reflexes.

"I wasn't trying to propose to you like that, Bella. Fuck, I tried to do it that night in the park but we got interrupted, remember?" She paused in her search for more shit to throw at me and I took that as a good fucking sign so I soldiered on. "Then I tried that night in the meadow, when your father called and told you about the damn reunion. And that night in the bathtub too. I've tried and fucking tried and something always goes fucking wrong."

Her hand clenched around a name plate and I braced myself but she didn't throw it. "Really? You were really going to propose those times?"

"Yes, baby. I'm not a total moron." _You could not be more fucking wrong about that. _"I wanted to ask you in a romantic way but something always fucked it up."

She nodded slowly. "So you thought you'd resort to informing me that we were getting married? No ring, no proposal, no nothing?"

"No! I already told you that I have a ring. I want to do it right, I just don't fucking know how!" I ran my hands through my hair as I waited to see if she was going to throw more shit or not. "I swear I was going to take you upstairs and show you my, I mean our, office up there. I have matching nameplates for Edward and Isabella Cullen and I thought I'd show you yours and see how you'd react and then get down on one fucking knee even though I'd feel like a fucking jackass."

"You have a ring?"

Didn't I just fucking say that? I reached in my pocket and pulled out the 5 carat cushion cut fire opal and held it out to her. "Does this answer your question?"

She looked at my hand and then back up at me. "That's not a diamond."

"Diamonds are fucking boring. You're anything but boring, Bella. This was the stone that reminded me of you. It's beautiful but fiery and original. It's unexpected for an engagement ring, which I thought fit you perfectly since I never know what the fuck you'll do."

Her lips twitched but she still didn't smile at me. Fuck, I missed her smile. "It's pretty."

"Yes, it is." She looked at me expectantly. "What?"

"Am I just supposed to take it out of your hand and put it on myself or are you going to try to do at least one part of this right?"

I felt a smile splitting my face and I dropped to my knees in front of her. Both fucking knees, because I would fucking beg if I had to just to make this right. I took her left hand in my right and brought it to my lips to kiss it before holding the ring right below her ring finger.

"Bella, I know I fucked this up royally and I know you deserve a way better proposal than this but this is all I've got for you right now. If you say yes, I swear that I'll make up for it some fucking how, however you like. I'll buy you twenty fucking bulls if that will make you happy. I want, no, _I need_ for you to be my wife. I love you and I always will and I really want you to have my last name and my company along with my heart. Will you marry me?"

She said nothing for a moment and I felt like I'd been kicked in the chest. Was she just fucking with me? Making me get on my knees so it would be easier to punch me in the face?

"Yes, I'll marry you. I'll take your name and your company, because you want me to, but I'll take your heart because that's all I really want. I love you, too, even if you suck at proposing. At least I finally found something you're not good at."

"I guess it's a good thing I only have to do it once then." I laughed as I slid the ring on her finger and stood up to kiss her passionately. She wrapped her arms around me and kissed me back just as fiercely before pulling back and finally giving me that beautiful fucking smile I'd been hoping to see when I finally proposed.

"When did you want to get married? In Forks? I don't know how thrilled my father will be with meeting you and then walking me down the aisle but we can try." She didn't look totally convinced that would be a good idea which was just fucking fine by me. Meeting her father was going to be weird enough without asking for her hand and all that other crap that humans had to do.

How best to broach this without having her lose her temper again? "Well, I may have asked Jenks to get ordained before we came here."

She giggled and grinned at me. "You may have, huh? And did you ask or did you tell?"

I smiled back at her, fucking relieved that she wasn't mad. "I told. And you know, it would make a lot of sense to leave your name as Isabella Cullen on those papers and have you sign them when that was your legal name, after you married me." Perfect fucking sense.

"Is that so?" She was amused, I could tell, so I kissed her and spun her around in my arms.

"Yes. It would save Jenks some time, seeing as you destroyed his computer and all."

Bella looked around the room sheepishly. "Oops. I should have waited until we were in your office."

"Our office," I corrected with a laugh.

"Yes, our office." Her lips twitched and then she laughed.

"I'll let him use our office and have this one fixed up even better than before. It'll be fine." Jenks wouldn't say a fucking word if he knew what was good for him.

She sighed but nodded. "I guess it's for the best. It's been awhile since I destroyed a room."

"Yes it has, baby. Truth be told, I kind of missed it."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Just because you got off this time doesn't mean you need to try to piss me off again. I won't be nearly so lenient next time."

"Mmmmm," I purred in her ear. "I like the sound of that, baby." She smacked my chest and I laughed and called out to Jenks. "You can come in now."

He opened the door and peered in anxiously, his expression one of horror that he quickly tried to mask after he saw the room. It was fucking hilarious. "Sorry about your office," Bella told him, walking over and giving him a friendly smile. "I'm sure he makes you want to throw things all the time." Well that was just fucking wrong.

Jenks let out a nervous laugh but didn't agree with her, because he wasn't a complete fucking dumbass. "It's fine, I'm sure. I've been meaning to change things around in here."

Bella glared at me and I figured it was best to fucking go with it. "You can use our office until this one is fixed. Call whomever you need to make things right and bill the company."

"Yes, sir." _I don't even want to know how a little thing like her managed to throw all this furniture around and crack unbreakable glass. Better not to know a damn thing._

He was learning. I almost felt like a proud fucking parent. "After a little discussion, Bella has agreed to marry me." It felt fucking good to say that aloud. "Please get Irina and we can begin."

Jenks scurried from the room and Bella came over to sock me in the arm. "You could have been nicer about it."

"What? I fucking said please."

She laughed and shook her head. "Never mind." Strange, crazy, fascinating woman.

Jenks came in with Irina, whose eyes widened as she took in the damaged room but she wisely said nothing either. I took Bella's hand in mine and gestured at Jenks to get on with it. He knew I didn't want all the long list of shit. There would be no sickness, poorer or bad times for us. Well, maybe some bad times when she was pissed at me but I could get around that shit no problem.

"Edward Cullen, do you take Isabella to be your lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, so long as you both shall live?"

I grinned at her. "Yes, I sure fucking do." The smile on her face got twice as bright at my words.

"Isabella Swan, do you take Edward to be your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, so long as you both shall live?"

"I fucking do, too." I laughed and kissed her, even though Jenks hadn't told me to yet, because she was so absolutely fucking perfect for me it was ridiculous. I heard sniffling dimly in the back of my mind but I fucking ignored that shit. He didn't get to participate in my fucking wedding.

"Erm, yes. Well if you have the rings, you can place them on one another's fingers as a symbol of your unending love." _These two are frightening. I hope they leave quickly._

I reached in my pocket again and got out the simple platinum band I'd selected to go with her ring and slid it on her finger. I handed her the matching one that I'd gotten for myself, because I fucking knew she'd expect me to wear one if she was. And actually, I really kind of wanted to wear it as a symbol that I belonged to her and she belonged to me. She slid the ring on my finger and then linked her hand with mine.

"By the power vested in me by the state of Illinois, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride." I lifted her off her feet and planted one hell of a hot kiss on her. Her arms wound around my neck and her tongue slid into my mouth and we kissed for several minutes. I was kissing my wife. Never in a million years would I have fucking thought this day would come but it felt so damn right.

Jenks cleared his throat and I finally broke the kiss. I thought about yelling at him but he'd just helped me marry Bella so I could overlook his interruption this once.

"I, uh, have the marriage license. You both need to sign and Irina will and then I'll sign it and we'll file it at the courthouse." I grinned at Bella as I led her over to his desk. Thank fucking God she hadn't seen and torn up the license. I picked up one of the pens I'd dropped on the floor after she threw it at me and she giggled and signed the paper. I signed right after her and wrapped my arms around her waist as Irina and Jenks both signed off.

"Now, did you need to go over the other papers or have you seen enough?" He glanced around the room warily.

Bella smiled and shook her head. "I've got the gist of them, thank you. Just show me where to sign." He did and a thrill shot through me as she signed "Isabella Cullen" on each line. Fuck, I could not love that more.

I signed where required and looked at Jenks expectantly. "Is that everything?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. You can go home for the day. We're going to need your office for a little longer." He looked around and looked like he wanted to say something but thought better of it. _What more damage could they possibly do? _ I laughed quietly to myself. We would see.

Jenks and Irina took off, glad to have the rest of the afternoon to themselves and to be the fuck away from us. Bella turned to me. "Why did you want to stay here?"

I gave her a lascivious grin. "It is our honeymoon, is it not?" She giggled as I lifted her on to the desk. "I'm going to have to replace pretty much everything anyway. Why not take out the rest of the furniture too?"

She raised an eyebrow in challenge. "If you think you can."

"Oh, I can, Mrs. Cullen. Just wait and see." God, I fucking loved calling her that and judging from the expression on her face she did too. I kissed her and started tugging at her clothes, having her naked a second before she got all mine off.

"Bring it on, Mr. Cullen. Let's leave this room nothing but a pile of rubble."

I could not fucking love her more. "As you wish, wife." Her face positively glowed. Maybe we should have made love to celebrate our union but we didn't need that. Fucking a room down should be a tradition for newly married vampires. If it wasn't, we were making it one. I thrust into her so hard that we cracked the desk and it fell apart beneath us and we just laughed and kept right on going. Life didn't get any fucking better than this.

* * *

**A/N See? I didn't ringblock for long and I didn't weddingblock at all! To me, Smugward's proposal couldn't have gone any other way. Bless his heart, he does try to get it right, sometimes, but in the end it all worked out the way it should have anyway I suppose!**

**There is one more chapter to go and I've dubbed it epilogue 3 but it's really more of an outtake so I might change the name when I post it. I wanted to lay down a warning now and I'll do it again when I post. Most of you wanted some in person retribution for Mike Newton and his cronies and Smug's referenced above that it's coming. That's the chapter it comes in and it does get rather dark. If you thought he went a little far with Jacob in chapter 2 you'll definitely think he goes far there. But he is still a vampire and he is still vengeful, particularly when it comes to his girl. I'll issue you a warning before the chapter as well but thought I'd lay the groundwork now, as it were.**

**We're pretty much wrapped up now, obviously, and I do want to hear from you if you have any outtake suggestions you'd like me to write. I'll be happy to tackle them somewhere between First & Ten and a brand new collab that I plan on starting fairly soon. It'll be AH and very different from anything else I've written but I'm pretty excited about it so hopefully you'll come along with me on a new adventure in the new year :) Thanks for reading, and I'll thank you all again next chapter so I'll stop now. See you soon!  
**


	28. Epilogue 3

**A/N Okay, here it is! For those of you that are a little leery of Smug's going all dark vamp on the boys, you can safely read down to the first xoxox break and pick up after the other xoxoxo break to experience the reunion and get a small taste of what you missed. Smugs is very much a strong believer in an eye for an eye and if you remember what Mike did to Bella, then you can guess what he's going to do to Mike and Co. Coerced sexual situations occur. I think it's pretty funny, but then, I've written this insanity so you know that. Happy reading and I'll see you below. Happy Holidays to you all!  
**

Taste of Innocence Epilogue #3

I was fucking married. If I didn't know better, I'd say it was a dream but there was a ring on my finger and I didn't even fucking mind at all. In fact, I had to fight to keep from breaking out in a ridiculous fucking grin every time I looked at it. I didn't even attempt to fight it when I saw the fire opal flashing on Bella's left hand though. She was mine and it was completely fucking official.

After we thoroughly destroyed Jenks' office, we left and got back in the limo and then headed back to the airport. Now I was navigating us into the small, private airport near Port Angeles. We were here and I could feel the anticipation that always flooded through my body right before a hunt. Finally I was going to enact the final part of my revenge on those fuckers that hurt my wife. Holy fuck, I had a wife. It was truly mind boggling.

"Are you nervous?"

I glanced over at Bella who was watching me as I taxied down the runway. "What would I be nervous about?" I could not fucking wait to lay eyes on those little pricks that thought it was okay to photograph a perfect girl without her consent and make her a fucking laughingstock in front of her whole school. We'd see who would "swallow" before all was said and fucking done.

She tilted her head. "Meeting my father?"

Oh, fuck, I guess I would have to play nice with the father-in-law for a few minutes before I got down to business wouldn't I? I hadn't really thought about it. "Should I be? He can't exactly shoot me. I mean, he can try but that wouldn't be the best idea." I'd dealt with my share of angry fucking fathers when I was a human but always managed to remain unscathed; hell I'd dealt with angry husbands too for that matter. Even as a human I'd been a smooth motherfucker.

Bella scowled and we both climbed out of the plane and made our way to the black Mercedes that was waiting for us in the parking lot. I signed some fucking papers and took Bella's hand and led her to the car, helping her inside before I got in and started the engine. "He wouldn't shoot you. He just may be a bit quiet and suspicious."

"So, in other words, you take after your dad." She hit me as I grinned and pulled out of the parking lot, flooring it as soon as we hit the open road. Nice fucking car; I just might have to get one.

"I do not."

"Are you saying you're not quiet? And that you weren't suspicious of me every time I tried to do something fucking nice for you?"

She raised a brow. Oops, I said fucking. I'd have to rein that in around her father I supposed. Gotta put on a fucking show for the old man. I shot her a grin and she shook her head and laughed.

"Every time you tried to do something nice for me, in the beginning anyway, you were trying to get laid."

That wasn't fucking true. Well, it wasn't exactly fucking true. I mean, it might have been part of it but not all of it. I had legitimately wanted to make her happy fairly quickly into our relationship. How fucking offensive.

"That's not true. Yes, I wanted to fuck you but I also hated to see you sad." Like you were when you told me about that fucking cocksucker Mike Newton and his limp-dicked friends.

Bella laughed and slid her hand into mine. "I know that you did. How do you think I got you to do my bidding so often?"

My scheming girl…I was fucking impressed. I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it. "You played me perfectly, princess. But I played you as well. And once you let me play with you, the world was fucking ours."

She chuckled. "The world, huh?"

"At the very least. More like the universe."

"You don't think too highly of yourself anymore, do you?" she asked dryly.

"You know I speak the truth, baby. After all, you married me, so I must be doing something fucking right."

She hummed and I squeezed her hand. "Alright, I admit that you're fairly attractive."

I barked out a laugh. "Baby, I may not be able to read your mind but I know exactly how attractive you find me. You're the one who jumped me in the limo after all."

She grinned. "Maybe I just wanted to see if sex in a limo was all it was cracked up to be." Her smile fell a little. "I never went to prom and found out."

My hands tightened on the steering wheel hard enough to crack it and I felt that white hot rage flow through me again. I was so close to those little shits and I could not fucking wait to be in the same room with them. I needed to check in with Garrett as soon as we got to Bella's father's house. I sped up and followed Bella's directions, not slowing until we got into the tiny town. I fought to keep from commenting when we pulled into the driveway of the small two-story house she'd lived in. Is this how normal people lived? Thank God I was fucking loaded.

"We're here! Isn't it sweet?" Bella cooed, getting out of the car as soon as I put the car in park.

Sweet? She needed to work on her definition of the word. It was better than a fucking shack, I supposed. Just barely. The whole place needed a paint job and some updating. Oh well, Bella liked it and I could pretend to for the short time I needed to be here.

"It's great, baby. Don't forget to put your contacts in."

"Oh yeah." She turned away from the house and popped in the brown contacts I'd gotten for her. They were nearly an exact match to her original color. I doubted her father would notice the difference. I hated to cover up the gold but it was necessary for now. I was wearing my green contacts again, since she loved them so. I thought it was rather fucking cute that she liked the color my eyes had been as a human.

The front door opened and suddenly there he was. My father-in-law. Fuck. I didn't know what to do with fathers, particularly good ones. Bella flew into his arms and I whispered, "gentle" so she made sure to keep her hold that of a normal human instead of a fucking strong vampire. "Bella." His voice broke as he held her and sort of rocked her in his arms.

"Hi, Daddy." Daddy. I fought the fucking shudder I felt move through me at that word and plastered a fake-ass smile on my face, holding out my hand to meet the man that had fathered my girl once he finally relinquished his hold on her.

"Dad, this is Edward Cullen. Edward, this is my father, Charlie Swan." I wanted to laugh at how fucking formal she was, even doing little _Wheel of Fortune_-like hand signals as if we needed a fucking visual guide when it was only just the three of us.

"Edward." His voice was stern, stiff now as he took my hand in his and attempted to give it a hard squeeze. I threw in a fucking comical wince and made my smile shaky, as if I could ever be intimidated by a mere fucking human who was not my Bella.

"Chief Swan. It's good to meet you."

_Should I ask him to call me Charlie? I don't know. And why in the hell are they both so pale? Weren't they on some kind of world cruise or something? His hand was cold as ice. _Fucking hawk-eyed cop fathers, have to notice every damn thing.

"Can we get inside? I'm afraid the a/c in the car was broken and we couldn't shut it off. We're both freezing." Bella made a big fucking show of moving her hands up and down her arms as if to warm herself up. She was so fucking adorable.

"Of course, come on in." He stepped to the side and gestured us inside the house.

I walked through the simple white hallway, stopping to admire the pictures of my girl from the time she was born through high school. She was a cute kid with her big brown eyes and crooked teeth and pigtails. Her senior year picture made me angry again. Her eyes were sad, her smile was forced and she looked, well, she looked like a fucking zombie. What those boys had done to her. Soon. So very soon. I was so fucking close to them that I could taste it and venom welled up in my mouth. I had to get the fuck out of here quickly.

We walked into the living room and Bella's father sat in a ratty old blue recliner that had seen better days. I sat on the couch and sent Bella a smile when she looked uncertainly between me and her father. She made her way over to me and I wrapped an arm around her when she nestled into my side. Her father made a little humph noise but didn't say anything.

"Tell him," Bella whispered too softly for her father to hear.

"Why do I have to tell him?" I muttered back. Like I fucking knew how to talk to her father.

"Because you're the one who ambushed me with a wedding," she replied, raising an eyebrow. Her father continued to stare at us and I gave him another smile. Fuck, she was right. He either hadn't noticed our rings or hadn't thought about noticing them which I doubted.

"So, Chief Swan, I suppose you have a lot of questions." Bella sighed and dug her elbow into my side. What? I was fucking working up to it.

He sat back and regarded us with a serious as fuck look on his face. "Well, I've had some time to get used to what Bella did and while I'm still not happy about it, I'm glad she at least found someone to take care of her when that boy left her high and dry." _I will find that bastard one day and make him pay for hurting my little girl and for convincing her that leaving school was a good move in the first place. _"I'd really like to know what Bella plans on doing now, about school."

Fuck, this was an unexpected turn. "I'll probably re-enroll in NYU next year, Dad. I want to finish my degree before I…" she broke off and looked at me again. Fucking hell. It looked like I'd be going to college in the fall. Yet another fucking first she'd brought to my life. But I sure as fuck wasn't letting her go alone. And now it was time to lower the boom on him.

"Before she takes an active part in my company," I finished.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "What part would she play? A literature degree doesn't hold much water in the business world, does it?"

"Yeah, well, she can do whatever she wants to do. I'll teach her anything she needs to know. It's her company now, too." There, that was a roundabout fucking way of telling him that I'd married her.

He leaned forward, his brown moustache twitching. "Excuse me? What do you mean it's her company now, too?"

I sighed and reached for Bella's left hand and held it up to him. "We got married."

His face turned bright red. Venom welled in my mouth and I looked and saw Bella shift nervously and swallow next to me. Not fucking good. I had to diffuse the situation fast, before one of us did something they'd regret.

"You got married? When did that happen? Why didn't you call me? Bella…what in the hell is wrong with you?" _First she takes off with one guy and comes back married to another? New York sure has changed her. She looks so pretty, so sleek, grown up even. I don't know that I'm ready for her to be a woman._

Jesus fucking Christ, spare me from the family hysterics. "Please, sir." Fuck me, I actually called someone sir. There clearly was a fucking first for everything. "Don't blame Bella. I sort of surprised her with a proposal and a wedding. It's not that we didn't want you to be a part of it; it was a spur of the moment thing."

"Did you knock up my daughter?" _Where's my gun? I knew I should have kept it on me but Bella assured me he was a nice guy and she didn't want me scaring him away. I'll shoot him dead if he got her pregnant at twenty-two, woman or not._

"No, absolutely not, sir." There we go with the sir a fucking gain. I needed to go and torture some little pricks to make myself feel better about this fucked up turn of events. "We were on my yacht and I asked her to marry me. She said yes and the ship's captain is allowed to perform ceremonies so I asked him to do it then and there. It was sunset and she was so beautiful and I just had to make her my wife at that moment. Please, don't hold it against her. I swept her off her feet."

Bella grinned at me, loving my fucking lie. I should marry her again on a yacht though; we could do our own private ceremony that didn't involve that fat fucker who worked for me. "Please, don't be angry Daddy. It was just a perfect moment. If you want to walk me down the aisle, we can get married again, here in Forks." Well that was just fucking great. I'd have to get a fucking tux and all that bullshit. Then again, it'd be nice to see Bella in a gorgeous white dress. Fuck, I'd do it, why the hell not?

_Monkey suit? Rich husband? Fancy big-city guests? I don't think so. _"No, Bella, it's okay. I'm not that upset, though I would have liked to have been there. Your mother and I didn't exactly do the traditional wedding thing either." _Eloped to Vegas because she was knocked up with Bella. At least Bella had the good sense to hook up with a billionaire instead of a poor cop, I guess._

Thank fuck for my money, it smoothed the way yet again. Bella bounced over and gave him a hug and then showed off her ring. "It's a fire opal, because Edward says I have a fiery personality." _That's true enough, but she's still cold. I'll have to turn up the heat I guess._

He looked over at me then and gave me a quick smile. "She does, doesn't she? Quiet as a mouse 90% of the time but when you piss her off, you better watch out."

I chuckled and sat back, infinitely more relaxed now that I didn't have to break wedding news any more. "You don't know the half of it. She smashed my favorite guitar within a week of meeting me." Ha, that was a fucking truth I could tell him. Bella glared at me but there wasn't shit she could do about it as her father laughed himself silly.

"And you still married her? I don't know, maybe we should take you to a shrink to see if you're all there." I laughed with him then, because how many fucking times had I thought about taking myself to Bellevue since I'd met this incredible fucking girl?

"I'm perfectly sane, I just like a challenge." She came back over to me and I tugged her into my lap. She squirmed for a minute, which made Edward Junior stand up and take notice, but she eventually relaxed into me.

_They look right together. I never would have thought it, my Bella and a rich dude, but there's something about them that fits. _Damn right we did. I brought her left hand to my lips and kissed her ring first, then her hand.

"Can I get you kids anything to drink?"

"No thank you, Chief Swan, I'm okay." We'd have to fake the eating and drinking shit soon enough, no point in rushing it.

"Me too," Bella supplied.

"Please, call me Charlie. You're my son-in-law now." Acceptance in his tone and his eyes. I'd fucking won her father over. Hot damn, I was on fucking fire today. The streak would only extend with my next task.

"Charlie, thank you for being so understanding." I tightened my grip on Bella. "Your daughter is the most important person in my world. I just want you to know that I'll take good care of her." It was suddenly fucking important to me that he knew that. I'd be taking care of her until the end of time and beyond.

His eyes filled with some emotion I couldn't quite place. "Thank you, son, I can see that." I froze at the word son. Other than occasionally being introduced as Carlisle's son, he'd never called me that. It was actually fucking nice. Bella lit up like a Christmas tree, thrilled that the two of us were getting along so well.

"Listen, Charlie, I know the season's a few months away yet but it just so happens that we own a box at Safeco Field." As of a fucking month ago. "You're free to use it whenever you like. I'm sure Bella and I will come and see a game or two with you." Yeah, I was a fucking kiss-ass to my new father-in-law. Whatever it fucking took to keep Bella happy.

Charlie lit up just like his daughter had moments ago. They really were a lot alike. It was fucking uncanny. "Really? Is this a bribe, son?"

I grinned at him. "And if it is?"

"I may be a cop, but it's one bribe I wouldn't turn down." We all laughed and Bella started chattering with her father, asking about people from work and shit I couldn't give a fuck about. "Excuse me for a moment." I set her down on the couch and took out my phone. "I need to make a call." They both nodded and smiled while I wandered outside to call Garrett.

"Are they there?" I demanded as soon as he answered.

"Well, hello to you, too," Garrett responded with a laugh. "They're en route now. They about shit a brick when they heard they'd been invited to an exclusive video game launch of the new Halo game. Kids."

"And they'll all be there?" It was imperative that I have all three of them pay for their actions.

"Yes. Yorkie's not overly thrilled about it but he likes to be where they are so he came along, as expected."

"Okay, I'm on my way. When they get there, just give them some drinks or some damn thing and tell them they're the first to arrive. It looks like a game room, right?"

"It looks like a dork's wet dream. Big screen TV's everywhere, cameras, as requested, big couches and recliners, snacks and soda. Everything a kid could want if he planned on doing nothing but sit on his ass for hours on end playing a game. Where did you get the game copy, by the way?"

Good. "I own the company." It was one of my more lucrative ventures, my foray into the game world.

"Of course you do."

"Let them start playing, make it look legit."

"Will do, boss. See you shortly."

I hung up and went back inside. "Bella, I've got something I need to take care of. I shouldn't be gone for too long, a couple of hours, tops." She stared at me quizzically, but she couldn't question me in front of her father, which I'd fucking planned to perfection.

I turned to him. "I'm sorry to run, Charlie. Some business that I have to take care of. I'll be back, shortly. You two probably have a lot to talk about. You'll take care of her until I get back, won't you?"

He smiled and nodded. "That's been my job for almost as long as you've been alive." I fought not to laugh at that one. Bella's lips twitched as she hid her own smile.

"See you soon, then." I kissed Bella and just smiled at her unasked questions. She'd be fucking pissed when she found out what I'd done but she'd get over it. She always did. It might cost me a few more fucking cows but I'd make it right with her again. I also thought a part of her would be fucking happy, though I doubted she'd completely acknowledge it. We'd see soon enough.

Xoxoxoxox

I pulled up around the corner from the building I'd acquired in order to put my plan together. Even though I'd likely be a suspect in what was about to go down, they'd be unable to prove it. Not that they'd fucking try when I got through with them, but it was best to have all contingencies covered. I'd hidden this building behind so many shell corporations that the true owner would never be traced.

I changed into my all black outfit and pulled out the fucking mask I'd have to wear to disguise myself. I fucking hated that, but I couldn't exactly show my face if I wanted to remain anonymous. Why the fuck had I agreed not to kill them? Damn her power over me.

_She's not going to like this._

Maybe not but they sure as fuck have it coming. And I told you to go the fuck away. I most certainly don't need you now. Not anymore.

A derisive sniff greeted that statement. _We'll see._

Yes, we fucking will. Shut the fuck up, I have boys to terrorize.

Garrett came out of the building and held his hand out for me to take, which I did, shaking it gently. It always amazed me that Garrett wasn't remotely fucking intimidated by me. He knew enough to know that I was different and he never questioned it. He was the perfect employee.

"Everything's all set. The cameras are rolling. They're completely into the game and wouldn't notice if a bomb went off at this point."

I smiled before pulling the mask over my head. It really was a fucking crime to hide away my perfection but I'd make up for that tomorrow night. Bella had yet to see me in a suit and tie. She'd be blown away. Maybe I should pick up a tux. I pulled out my phone and fired off a text to Jenks to order him to get one sent to Bella's house by tomorrow afternoon. That would keep him fucking busy for awhile. Well, that and the redecoration of his fucking office of course. I smirked in memory of the mess we'd left behind. We'd have to destroy more rooms via fucking, it was fantastic.

"Do you have the gun?" I asked Garrett, who quickly pulled it out from under his jacket. It was a fucking insult, having to hide behind this measly weapon when I could end them effortlessly but appearances had to be maintained. I took the gun and cocked it. "Is it loaded?"

"Yes, as specified. If I may say so, boss, you're truly diabolical."

"They fucked with the wrong person. Now they're going to find out what it is to be fucking humiliated. They should be thankful they're getting out alive."

"Either way," Garrett shrugged, his blue eyes twinkling. Another fucking thing I liked about him. Human life meant nothing to him whatsoever. If I asked him to, he'd kill them without a qualm. I'd have to give him a bonus. "You want me to wait outside?"

"No, come in but stand by the front door. Once I let them go, you know what to do with the video?"

"Make sure they're the only ones that are seen on film and get it to the school. I've got it," he replied confidently. Garrett was a technical whiz, the perfect one for this job.

"Let's do it." He walked inside with me and stopped at the front door, taking another gun from his jacket and grinning at me. "Just in case."

I laughed and walked down the hallway, turning into the large room that had been set up to host the gaming party. Laughs of delight accompanied the loud crashes and booms on the TV screen. Keep on laughing, fuckers. They didn't notice my stealthy entrance into the room and I watched them for a minute.

Tyler was rather large, with light brown hair and eyes. He had the broad shoulders of a football player and he was smiling as he blew something up. Eric sat in the recliner closest to Tyler's, his eyes on the screen but also moving over to his friend quite often. I chuckled quietly. Too fucking perfect. He wanted him. Today's your lucky day, Eric. He was much smaller than Tyler, Asian, with short black hair and dark eyes.

And to the right was Michael Newton. Blond haired, blue eyed, wearing ratty jeans and a t-shirt. This past year hadn't been too kind to him. He'd been forced to move home and live with his parents, working in their store. They couldn't afford to send him back to school, nor did they want to from what Garrett had reported. I was going to return their money shortly, maybe with a bonus for not doing more for their asshole of a son. He had a paunchy gut now, which made me absurdly happy.

Their thoughts weren't very interesting, yet, just concentrating on the game coupled with some yearning from Eric for his best friend. I wondered whether he'd rather give or receive and then I saw it in my mind. Well, so be it, young Eric, you'll get what you want. From everything Bella had told me, he'd been more or less on the periphery, so I could be a little fucking magnanimous.

The time had come. I needed to get this shit done and go the fuck home to my girl and her father. I grabbed the remote off the table and shut the TV of. "Hey, what the hell? What happened?" Mike turned to presumably look for Garrett and he froze when he caught sight of me. "What the...hey, are you an actor or something? Like here to act out the game? That's awesome!"

Fucking simpleton. Tyler and Eric both looked at me as well and Tyler actually fist-bumped Mike at the idea that I was some actor. Why the fuck couldn't I end them? Wouldn't it be a service to humanity to ensure that they never bred and created even dumber offspring?

"No, I'm not an actor." I spoke deliberately and in a deeper voice than I normally used. Just in case either one of those fucktards heard me tomorrow night. I gestured with my gun. "Stand up."

"Seriously, this the coolest day ever! First the game, now we get to act it out! Please, mister, don't shoot me." Mike was fucking laughing as he got up, holding his hands in the air. Tyler and Eric also rose, wearing matching stupid fucking grins. I sighed and aimed the gun at the TV and pulled the trigger. The glass exploded and the machine started to fucking hiss and smoke, which was actually pretty fucking cool.

"Holy shit!" Tyler yelled, leaping away from the television. "You really shot it! What the fuck is going on?" _Please tell me this is a part of the game._

"Um, I think it's a stick up," Eric supplied nervously, shifting from foot to foot and looking like he was going to piss his pants at any second. A stick up? Where the fuck were we, in the 1800's? At least one of them fucking got that danger was afoot.

"Come over here," I barked, pointing the gun at Tyler. Eric immediately stepped forward. How about that? He didn't just want him, he actually fucking loved him. Well, there was no accounting for taste I supposed. "You two as well."

_We can take him. If Tyler goes low, I can disarm him and we can call the cops. I wish that guy hadn't taken our phones when we came in. Wait a minute…was it all a set up? _Well, how about that? Mike finally got a fucking clue.

"Get in the center of the room. Now," I demanded. They walked slowly toward me, all with their hands up and fear finally showing on their faces. Fuck, I loved it. I knew Garrett had set the cameras to capture every angle of the middle of the room, so that's where I needed them to be, while I stood a bit back so he wouldn't have to edit too much.

"L…l…listen," Eric stammered. "We don't have a lot of money but we'll give you everything we have. Just don't hurt us."

"I'm not going to hurt you, Mr. Yorkie. Well, not unless you don't do exactly as I say. Do you think you can manage that?" He was grasping onto my promise not to hurt him and he nodded emphatically. _How does he know my name? _"Good. Stop there." They were just where I wanted them to be.

"Now, as I told Eric over there, if you do exactly what I say, I won't hurt you. If you don't…" I trailed off and let the warning fill the air for a moment before continuing. "I'll not only enjoy killing you slowly, but I'll also kill every person you love, do you understand me?" They were trembling now and their thoughts filled with pictures of their parents, some friends, and even a girl or two. "Yes, Mike. I'll let you watch while I torture that little Jessica girl you used to date in college." He gasped and went pale. _How does he know about Jess? I haven't even seen her in a couple years. _

"And Tyler, that blond bitch, Lauren, really was a good fuck, wasn't she? Perhaps I'll fuck her in front of you before I slit her throat? How does that sound?" My whole being railed against the words I was saying, because I would never fuck another girl again and had no interest in doing so. But he didn't know that. Their families and friends were perfectly safe, and sadly so were they. But they needed to believe that I hadn't a fucking qualm about doing what I said. My words were filled with menace and they were freaking out.

"Please, please, we'll do whatever you want. Don't hurt her," Tyler pled, his eyes wild with fear.

"Very good, Mr. Crowley." I turned my attention back to Eric and smiled. "Morgan." He gasped and threw his hands over his mouth, shaking his head. _How does he know? He's the only guy I've ever been with. _"Tyler," I said and he started to cry.

"Please, please don't. You said you wouldn't hurt us."

"And I won't, if you do what I tell you, starting now. Okay, boys?" They all nodded. Mike was trying to think of ways to get away from me, Tyler was picturing Lauren getting raped in front of him and Eric was just scared shitless that I was going to advertise the fact that he liked to take it up the ass and was in love with his best friend. It was fucking tempting, to be sure.

"Take off your clothes."

_No, no fucking way. He can just shoot me dead. I'm not letting him fuck me. _Mike's thoughts made me laugh. As if I would ever lower myself to stick my dick in his pathetic ass? He was so far from being worthy of Edward Junior that it was laughable.

"I wonder if your mother gives good head, Mr. Newton. Should I find out?" _Ew, that's fucking gross. No, no way. _

I turned to look at Tyler and Eric, who already had his hands on his pants. Good boy. I would give him what he wanted for sure now. "I said, take them off, toss them in a pile over there." I gestured to the floor to the right.

"What, what are you going to do to us if we do it?"

I laughed darkly. "I'm not going to lay a hand on you, I swear." _Maybe he just gets his jollies by looking at naked guys. I can deal with that. I've got nothing to be ashamed of. _Tyler's mental voice was pathetically hopeful. He took off his shirt and tossed it on the floor. I nodded with satisfaction when Eric followed his lead. Mike continued to dawdle. "Maybe I'll cut off your father's dick and use it to choke your mother. What do you think about that, Mr. Newton?" His shirt was off seconds later. "Very good. Pants and underwear too. Let's get a move on, I don't have all day."

"You're just fucking with us, aren't you?" Mike asked nervously. "This is like some weird reality show or something, right? Our parents are going to pop out and laugh at us for playing along any second now."

I sighed and used the remote to turn on one of the other TV's, which had a feed of the Newton house. Mike's mother was puttering around the kitchen. "As you can see, she's not here waiting to surprise you, it would be pretty fucked up if she was, don't you think? I happen to have an associate right outside your house who would be more than happy to go in and prove that your mother is a wonderful little fuck, should you not cooperate." I hit a button and there was a man all dressed in black lurking outside the house. This was bullshit, of course, Garrett had shot it earlier but Mike didn't fucking know that, did he?

"No! No, leave my mom alone!" he cried, yanking down his sweatpants and throwing them on the pile of shirts.

"Do you two need to see your parents or are you finally ready to do what the fuck I say?" I put all the menace I had into my voice and their pants were off quickly as well. "Very good. Underwear now."

Tyler and Mike avoided looking at one another as they slid their underwear off and tossed it on the pile. Eric did as well, but I saw his eyes wander to Tyler's cock. Big fucking surprise. I fought not to laugh.

"Good. I'm glad to see you being cooperative. Just one more thing and then you boys can go home."

"What?" Mike asked, his hands covering his less than impressive cock. As if I wanted to look at that pathetic worm-like appendage?

"Suck Tyler's cock, Michael." His eyes flew to mine and he shook his head.

"No, no way. No way in hell am I doing that."

"Well then." I took out my phone and pressed a button. "Yeah, it's me. Go in and take Mrs. Newton and bring her here. Her son is refusing to cooperate. I think it's time we showed him what his defiance will cost him. Be sure to smack her around some before you bring her here. I'd like to see a few nice bruises on that pretty face."

"No!" he shouted, his voice filled with horror. "Please, tell him not to touch her. I'll...I'll do it." He looked at Tyler who was studiously avoiding his gaze. "I have to, it's my mom."

"Don't worry. You don't even have to get him off, unless you want to," I told him with a dark laugh. "On your knees in front of him." They needed to hurry the fuck up so I could go home to Bella.

Mike walked slowly over to Tyler and lowered himself to his knees. Tyler shifted uncomfortably but didn't pull away. "What do I do now?"

"Surely you've gotten head a time or two in your life, Mr. Newton." My voice hardened as I knew at least one person that he gotten it from, a person he was unworthy to even fucking think about let alone touch. "Do exactly what you like to have done to you."

_This is so fucking gross. But I have to. For my family, I have to. For Jess. _He leaned forward and grasped Tyler's cock in his hands before leaning in and taking the head in his mouth. Tyler closed his eyes. _Pretend it's Lauren. Lauren gives good head. It's her mouth._

Mike's face was scrunched up in disgust as he sucked on only the head. "Now, Michael, that's not a very attractive look on your face. Try to pretend you're enjoying it. Mommy can show you how if you like." He groaned and took Tyler further in before he started moving up and down on the head. He managed to look a little more like he was enjoying it.

_It's Lauren. Lauren with her big blue eyes and those huge breasts. Lauren, who gets so wet that I can slide right into her pussy. Oh fuck, I got hard. Mike's going to think I want him._

_So gross, why do girl's do this? I mean, it sure as hell feels good for the guy but this is disgusting. Oh crap, he's hard. I'm going to choke. He better not fucking come or I'll kick his ass._

I couldn't keep the smile off my face, though of course they couldn't see it with the black cloth covering my head. Still, it was fantastic. I made him go for several minutes. "Okay, that's enough, Mr. Newton." He released Tyler immediately and started wiping his mouth even though Tyler hadn't come. "Your turn, Mr. Crowley. Mr. Yorkie looks like he needs some attention." The amusement was in my tone now because it was fucking true. Eric had gotten hard watching Mike attend to Tyler. This was no surprise since he was actually gay but I almost felt bad for him. Almost but not really. He did take part in tormenting my Bella after all.

Tyler got to his knees and his eyes widened comically when he saw that Eric was hard. "Um," he said but didn't say anything else. I gestured with the gun and he sighed and started. Eric's mind immediately went blissful as he'd dreamt of this moment for years. He actually put his hands in Tyler's hair and helped guide him to the speed he wanted. _What the fuck? He's actually fucking enjoying this? I guess he's always been weird. I hope to fuck he doesn't come though. I'll just pretend I'm deep throating a hot dog on a dare. Sounds like something our frat would do. Hmm, maybe we should do that to this year's pledges. Oh fuck, tell me he's not, shit, shit, shit. Do I have to swallow? He didn't say. If I spit it out he may punish my family. Damn it, Eric, how could you do this to me?_

Fucking priceless. Eric couldn't help it and he came and Tyler swallowed it. His face was fucking hilarious. I'd have to tell Garrett to edit it so it looked like he enjoyed the taste. "Oh God, I'm so sorry Tyler, I didn't mean to, it just, it felt so good and I couldn't help it." Eric was stuttering and stammering and Tyler just shook his head and backed away quickly once he got to his feet.

"I know. Just don't talk about it, please," Tyler gasped.

"There's soda in the fridge right there. You can get some if you like." Tyler ran to the fridge almost before the words were out of my mouth. I laughed. "Yorkie, your turn. Mr. Newton is the only one who's yet to have the pleasure of his friend's mouth."

Eric did as the others had, getting to his knees in front of Mike. He expertly pumped his dick a few times before running his tongue over the head. Mike squeaked in surprise and closed his eyes just as Tyler had. Eric took him in and began moving expertly on his cock. Tyler gaped in surprise as he watched him go to town on Mike and then he finally got it. _Eric's gay. Eric's gay and I sucked his cock. Does that mean I'm gay? Is he gay for me? Like does he want me? Or am I just good at giving head? I don't want to be good at giving head. That's gross. I need more soda. _He started drinking again and I shook with my need to contain my laughter. This was fucking hilarious. Who knew that not killing them could be so much fun?

_My God, that feels good. Pretend it's Jess. No, Jess kinda sucked at giving head but she sure had a nice, tight pussy. Emily wasn't bad. I can pretend it's Emily. She probably wouldn't mind a ride on the Mike Express again. Oh, fuck that, Bella was the best I ever had. That hot little mouth…she really knew how to get me off. Yeah, Bella, suck me._

"Enough!" I thundered. White hot rage shot through me and I nearly leapt on him and ripped him apart. Only my promise to her kept me from doing so. She was more important than he was. And this revenge was all I could take for her. He'd pay for that errant thought, though. I could shoot him somewhere that wouldn't kill him. Technically that wouldn't be laying a hand on him and wouldn't break my word.

Eric released Mike immediately and looked at me, trembling in fear. "What? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, Mr. Yorkie. You did as I asked. You may get dressed and get out of here. Mr. Crowley as well. But you should know that if you tell anybody about what went on here today, my promise not to harm you is moot. I will do exactly as I promised and make you watch as I kill everyone you love before I turn on you. Is that understood?"

They both nodded and hurried up and pulled on their clothes. "Wait a minute! You guys can't just leave me with him," Mike begged.

"Sorry, man, but I'm getting out of here while I can," Tyler told him, running for the door, Eric scurrying along behind him.

"Now it's just us, Mr. Newton. Tell me, are you scared?" I cooed as I walked around him. He tried to cover both his ass and his cock from me, as if I'd fucking want either one. I gave Garrett the pre-arranged hand signal and he knew to stop the video and get it and get the hell out of there. Everything in here was untraceable, not that we were going to leave it behind to be searched anyway. I didn't think the boys would tell but I didn't rely on capricious human minds when I carried out my plans.

"Yes," he admitted, much to my utter surprise.

"Good, you should be," I told him. "I just wanted a moment alone with you. To make you a promise."

"A promise?" he asked, eying me warily.

"Yes, a promise." I smiled. "Wherever you go, whatever you do, hell, whoever you do, I'll be watching. There will be eyes on you all the time. You'd better think twice about everything you say, and even everything you think. If you make one move I don't like, you'll pay dearly for it. You already have."

"What did I ever do to you?" he cried, shaking a little as I gestured him over to his clothes.

"That's not important." Like fuck it wasn't, but I couldn't exactly tell him now could I? "What's important is what I've done to you. You already lost your education and your money at my hands; do you want to lose anything else? Maybe an important appendage?" I moved closer to him and aimed the gun at his dick as he screamed.

"No! You're the one who took my money? Why? Why? Don't I get to know why?"

"If you're too fucking dumb to put it together, then I'm not going to tell you. Get out of here before I change my mind about that body part." He ran and I followed quickly after him. I knew one of Garrett's men was going to blow the building in about three minutes. I ran to the car, knowing that nobody would see me as I dove in and removed the mask, starting the car and hurrying home to Bella. There would be no proof and the only person they'd seen was Garrett, who was on his way out of town as soon as he took care of things at the school. This had been fucking fun, but tomorrow night would be even more so.

Xoxoxoxox

"Baby, come on. We're going to be late." What the fuck was she doing in there, curing cancer? Bella'd been locked in the bathroom for over an hour and while I could have busted in at any time, Charlie might not have been overly thrilled with it. I sighed and fiddled with my fucking tux for the fifty-third time and tried to calm the fuck down. I needed to be there when the big reveal hit and so did Bella. She might not believe it, but I fucking did it for her.

The door cracked open and I whirled to get a look at her. Holy fuck, she'd never been more stunning. She was in a body-hugging red silk dress, cut enough to reveal the hint of her gorgeous breasts. "Bella, you look incredible," I breathed, reaching out to run my fingers through her sexy curls that tumbled over her shoulders. She had in the brown contacts again but she'd also outlined her eyes in some smoky black color that really made them pop.

She reached for me as well, tracing the line of my jaw as her eyes devoured me. Maybe we should just stay here and fuck for hours on end. "Nobody will ever believe that I could get a guy like you," she murmured, tracing my cheekbones with her thumbs.

What fucking nonsense. I tugged her over to the full-length mirror on her closet and pulled her in front of me. "Look there and tell me what you see." Her eyes met mine in the mirror and she smiled softly.

"I see you, Edward. I always see you." Well that was fucking understandable but not the point.

"Do you know what I see, baby?" She shook her head, continuing to stare at me hungrily in the mirror. "I see the most beautiful woman in the world. I see the woman that belongs with me, belongs to me. I see the woman that completes my life. I see everything."

Her eyes welled up with unshed tears and she whirled to throw her arms around me. "I know I belong with you most of the time. It's just, being back here, remembering everything that happened to me; I feel like that awkward seventeen year old that spent all her time in the library."

I stroked her hair as another blast of anger shot through me. Stupid fucking people who didn't recognize true beauty when they saw it; who made her feel unwanted and unloved. Never fucking again. I tilted her head up and kissed her softly. She clung to me tightly and kissed me back, trying to strengthen the kiss but I pulled back.

"They were fucking fools, Bella. And tonight they're going to see that and they'll regret that they didn't get to know the girl who became the woman before them. They'll all be intrigued and interested and God knows the men are going to want you in ways that will drive me fucking mad." I grinned at her. "Maybe we should just stay here after all and I could slide that dress off your body and make love to you all night. What do you think of that?" I fucking would, too. She deserved to show them all but if she didn't want to, I'd stay here and miss seeing my revenge come to fruition.

Bella's eyes glinted and she took a deep breath before giving me a sexy smile. "How about we do both? We go for an hour, I let them see that they didn't break me, and then I come home with my sexy husband and make love for hours."

"I'd say that sounds like a perfect fucking plan." She laughed and took my hand.

"Let's do this."

I led her outside and she gasped when she saw the limo waiting in the driveway. I wasn't sure why, she just rode in one the other day but since it made her turn and kiss me hard I wasn't about to fucking complain. "A limo, Edward? It's probably a bit of overkill, don't you think?"

I brushed my thumb over her cheek. "You didn't get to go to prom. This is as close as I can come to giving it to you."

Her entire face softened and she kissed me again. "Thank you, Edward. You know what I want better than I do, I think." Took me fucking long enough to get to that stage but yeah, I fucking knew my girl and what would make her happy. I helped her into the limo and slid in next to her, wrapping my arms around her as she laid her head on my chest.

"I love you, Bella. No matter what happens tonight, I hope you remember that."

She raised her head and looked at me. "What does that mean?" I shrugged and gave her a smile meant to distract her. It didn't work and she gripped my shirt at the neck. "You promised, Edward. You promised you wouldn't lay a hand on them. Let's just go home."

"No, baby, we're almost there." Because this town was the size of a fucking postage stamp. How anybody lived here was beyond me. "I said I wouldn't touch them and I won't. Not a hand, not a tooth, not even a brush of my jacket against them. I swear, Bella." It was all fucking true.

She eyed me for a moment and then sighed. "I'm holding you to that."

I grinned at her as we pulled up in front of the school. There were some humans milling about outside and all their eyes were on the limo as the driver got out and opened our door. I got out first and smirked as I heard several audible gasps from the women and murmurs from the men. I held out my hand and Bella took it and stepped gracefully from the limo. Even louder murmurs and gasps accompanied her appearance and I slipped my arm around her waist immediately. She was mine.

Nobody knew who she was, or at least they hadn't put it together yet. I led her past the curious eyes, trying my damndest not to laugh at the envy and desire in every single thought I encountered. I held the gym door open for her and we walked to the front table where a blonde who looked familiar was sitting and sorting through nametags. She was a bit chunkier and her hair was even more fried by all the fucking coloring she had done to it, but this was Lauren, the girl in Tyler Crowley's head.

She looked up at our entrance and her jaw dropped open. She immediately shot into fantasy mode over me and I fought not to laugh as she pictured fucking me just like Tyler had done her. I cleared my throat and she shook her head and tried to focus on things other than my cock, which admittedly was difficult to do. It was a good fucking thing she couldn't see it or we'd never get inside.

"Hi," she cooed, holding her hand out to me and ignoring Bella, which pissed me the fuck off. "Welcome to the Class of 2005 reunion. I'm afraid I don't recognize you and believe me I would have if you'd gone here." She gave me a winning smile and I ignored her hand and pulled Bella in front of me.

"That's because I didn't. My wife did." Lauren's face fell but she attempted to smile.

"And who are you?" she asked Bella, somewhat snidely which fucking pissed me off again. What was wrong with these fucking idiots that they couldn't recognize true beauty when it was staring them in the face?

"Bella Swan," my wife replied and then she shot me a smile. "Well, Bella Cullen now." Fuck, I loved hearing her say that.

_It can't be. But she's so pretty. Bella Swan couldn't get a guy like that if she paid him. Hey, maybe that's it. Maybe she hired him to escort her. Not that she doesn't look a hell of a lot better than she did then, but he's amazing. Too good for her. _

Fucking bitch. She was the one who was too good for me and it was just my good fortune that she didn't realize it.

"Bella! You look great! It's been a long time. How's life been treating you?" Envy and irritation dripped from her tone.

Bella didn't let that bother her. She brought her hand to my face and smiled again. "Very well, as I'm sure you can see. Can we get out nametags, please? I'd like to go inside."

Lauren scowled but scrawled Bella Swan Cullen on a nametag and handed it to her. "And you are?"

"Edward Cullen." Her jaw dropped open again. _It can't be. But how many Edward Cullen's are there? Bella Swan did not land a rich, gorgeous guy while I sat in this town and settled for guys like Tyler and Mark. It's just not fair!_

I raised my brow at her and she shook her head again and wrote my name on the tag. When she handed it to me, I saw her intentions and yanked the sticker from her hand before she could touch me. Fucking fool, as if I'd ever let her have the honor of touching me. I slapped my nametag on and led Bella into the entrance to the gym, wrinkling my nose automatically at the smell of old sweat that permeated the place. What a lovely fucking place for a party. I shot Bella a look at she giggled, which I fucking loved. She was over her bout of nerves it seemed.

There was a DJ playing some ridiculous Top 40 music and a refreshment table with food for the humans. There were streamers hanging from the walls and that was about it as far as decorations went. Every eye in the place was on Bella and me as we walked around the room. She started to walk to stand against the wall and I got a very vivid image of my Bella doing just that in her years at this fucking school. Not anymore.

I halted her and led her onto the dance floor. Her eyes widened in surprise and she tried to pull away from me but I held firm. "Edward, I don't dance."

"That's okay, baby, I do." I twirled her out and drew her back into my arms. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and I held her waist, pulling her close and moving our bodies in perfect rhythm to the song. "See, nothing hard about it," I murmured in her ear.

She laughed and rested her head on my shoulder. "I can feel something hard."

I chuckled and rubbed Edward Junior against her stomach again. "Anytime you like, dear wife."

She titled her head and grinned at me. "And what if I like right now?"

Well, fuck me. Sex or revenge? Revenge or sex? Sex wins every fucking time. "Where's the janitor's closet? Isn't that where the kids go to fuck on school grounds?"

Bella giggled and gave me a smacking kiss. "As appealing as that sounds, I think I'll wait until we get out of here. Which will be soon, right?"

"Absolutely, baby." It seemed I didn't have to choose. Fucking excellent.

We danced for awhile and I basked in the thoughts around us for the most part. Everybody was amazed that Bella had become so utterly beautiful and many of them outright said so to one another, which meant that she heard it too. The smile on her face kept growing until she was positively beaming.

"I told you so," I murmured, capturing her lips with mine. Thoughts all around us turned sexual but I ignored it and just enjoyed the feel of her.

_Wow! Is that my Bella? _I broke our kiss and looked directly into the blue eyes of Michael Newton. He was there, looking fucking ridiculous in an ill-fitting suit that was entirely too tight for him, staring at my girl as if she was his salvation. How fucking dare he think of her as his? She belonged to me. He'd had his chance and fucked it up royally. When the fuck was the damn slide show anyway? I wanted to get the hell out of here and take my wife to bed.

Bella seemed content to just stay in my arms for the night, which I really didn't have a problem with but I figured we should fucking socialize a little so we made the rounds, saying hello to people, letting them see just how fucking perfect she was and that they hadn't broken her. I kept my face blank when we exchanged greetings with Mike, who was picturing my Bella naked and didn't even really remotely register me. Which I guessed was a fucking good thing, all things considered. Eric and Tyler hadn't bothered to show up tonight, which was sort of a disappointment but at least he was here.

Bella's expression when the revolting fucker tried to give her a hug was priceless. She stepped back into me and I wrapped my arms around her while glaring at him. He'd taken the hint pretty quickly and scurried the fuck away. _I should have stayed with her. She's way hotter than Emily ever was. And look at her now, she's fucking huge. Why did I ever dump Bella? _Because you are a stupid motherfucker who thought he was big shit. You're about to see exactly how fucking small you are, and so is everyone else, asshole.

"Can we get out of here?" Bella asked a little later. "I don't really know any of these people anymore, nor do I want to."

"Sure, baby." If she wanted to leave, we'd leave. She was all that really mattered.

I took her hand and started toward the doors when Lauren's voice broke in. "Thanks for coming everyone! We have a few awards to present shortly but first I thought it would be fun to show some pictures from back when we were in school. Won't it be good for a laugh?" She tittered obnoxiously and asked someone to get the lights. A projection screen was illuminated and the video started.

"Let's watch this and then we'll go," I told her. She frowned a little but shrugged.

The video played, showing many of the students in their earlier glory. I smirked a little at all the shots of Newton on the football field and as prom king. His best years had truly been his youth. How fucking sad for him. There was one slide that had my Bella, though she was just in the periphery, her head turned to the side. She sighed and I kissed her cheek. "You're better than every one of them, Bella Cullen. Don't you forget that."

The video continued for a few more minutes when all of a sudden there was a shot of Mike with a dick in his mouth. Gasps filled the crowd and Bella turned to glare at me but didn't say anything. Mike on the field, Mike with a cock, Tyler scoring on the basketball court, Tyler sucking a cock. On and on it went, with Mike and Tyler and Eric's little show from yesterday interspersed with shots of their youth.

"I had to do it!" Mike shouted. "This guy made us do it. I'm not gay!"

"Sure you're not, Newton. You just ran out of cigarettes so you thought you'd smoke a pole instead," some guy yelled. Everybody was laughing and Mike kept screaming about men in black and guns and video games.

Bella tugged on my hand and this time I left with her, walking out into the night air. I started to walk toward the limo and she held firm. "I thought I told you not to touch them," she hissed quietly.

"And I didn't. There was no touching involved, except on their part. Did you see Eric go to town on Mike? He sucks cock like a fucking pro."

"Edward, why did you do it?"

She sounded sad, which really fucking sucked. I wanted her to be happy. "I couldn't let them go unpunished." She opened her mouth and I shook my head. "No, baby, I know you claim you're over it, but you're not. You were right back to being that girl when we got ready to come here tonight. These people treated you like shit and I couldn't live with it. I'd say I was sorry but I'd be fucking lying."

She sighed and shook her head. "It wasn't necessary. What's done is done and you can't take it away."

I brushed her hair away from her face. "No, I can't, and that pisses me off more than I can fucking say. But what I can do, what I did do, was give them a tiny taste of what you had to deal with. I wouldn't take it back, even if you cut me off for a fucking month. They had to pay, Bella." I hoped to God she didn't cut me off for a month. I'd fucking die all over again.

"They're going to know it was you," she whispered, her voice filled with worry. Of course my girl would fucking worry about me.

"If they're smart enough to come to that conclusion, then they can fucking try to prove it, baby. I promise you, they won't be able to. I can cover my tracks, you know." I shot her a grin and her lips twitched. Fuck yes, she wasn't that mad then.

I heard something and I pulled her around the corner of the school. We watched as Mike ran out of the building, laughter and taunts following him. I smirked and looked at Bella who started to smile. I chuckled and she looked at me with narrowed eyes.

"Alright, I'm not going to lie and pretend that a part of me doesn't find it hilarious that Mike had to go through that." That's what I'm fucking saying! There's my girl. "But another part of me is angry that you took a chance and risked yourself like that. He's not worth it, Edward."

"But you are." I kissed her and she kissed me back with everything she had. I pulled back and looked into her beautiful brown eyes, the eyes that captured me from the first moment. They weren't the same color anymore, but they would captivate me until the end of time. "I will always protect you, Bella. Maybe I do it in fucked up ways sometimes, but that's who I am. I'd do anything for you, you have to know that."

She kissed me again. "I'm not going to thank you."

I chuckled again. "You don't have to."

She took my hand and led the way to the limo. "But I am going to ask you to tell me the whole story."

"I can do that." Leaving out a few details, like threatening to fuck their mothers and such. There was shit that just did not need to be shared.

She smirked. "After."

"After what?"

"After you take me home and make love to me for the rest of the night." Fuck yes, my Bella was perfection.

"You're a woman after my own heart, Mrs. Cullen."

She threw back her head and laughed. "I already have it, Mr. Cullen." She was magnificent with the moonlight shining on her.

"That you fucking do."

"And you have mine." Damn right I did.

"That I fucking do." I had no clue how it happened and if someone had told me that I would have fallen in love with a brunette spitfire that refused to eat humans and watched ridiculous fucking vampire TV shows and had cows for pets and drove me mad 90% of the time, I would have fucking laughed my ass off before ripping their head off just for being an idiot. But here I was, completely besotted with said woman, mingling with humans just to let them see how they'd fucked up years ago by not seeing how exquisite she was.

It took me over a hundred years, but finally I knew what it was to be alive. She'd given me that. She'd given me everything. And I'd do the same for her; no matter what crazy fucking thing she came up with next. I fucking loved that I never knew exactly what she'd do. Life with her would never be fucking boring, that was for sure.

"Edward?"

I focused on her and smiled. "Yes, love?"

"Come back to me."

"Always, baby."

She smiled and got in the car. "I like the sound of that."

I pulled her into my arms and kissed her soundly. "Game still fucking on, Bella Swan Cullen. Forever." We'd both faced our fucking pasts and wiped out the darkness together. Fuck the past, the future was ours.

* * *

**A/N And I'm marking this story complete, although I am open to outtake suggestions and one of these days I may bring this crazy pair back again if a new story for them occurs to me. For now, know that they're fighting, fucking and loving their way through life, with a healthy side dose of cows and Jenks to keep things exciting :)**

**I could and should thank so many people who were there for me through this story. Rameau and AG0 are as much a part of this story as I am and they laughed and reassured me the whole way through this adventure with the crazy vamp. Starla, Jill, and Brenda have all been big pimpers and supporters of me and Smugs and I could not thank them enough. They deserve more than having been Carlisle's sex toys and Smug's devirginizer, Thanks to Leanne who let me make her into a prostitute, Joss Whedon and the rest of the racist Hollywood vampire showrunners and writers for giving Smugs some of his best rants and to each and every one of you who's read, pimped and reviewed this story. I have never had a better time in my life as I did reading what you guys thought of the crazy things my two vampires said and did (yeah I'm single, so it sadly true, hehe). Giant thanks to Team Smugward who bid on me during Fandom Gives Back, I'm still amazed by your generosity. **

**Special thanks to Twisted Coincidence, who has pimped this story like no other and was an awesome pre-reader at the end. Smugs and I love you all! Send me your thoughts, suggestions and requests for outtakes if you have them, I don't want to let him go :) You guys rock! Thanks for reading!**

**If you're wanting to read more from me, put me on alert. I'm going to have a collab starting in the new year that is very different for me and of course First & Ten is well underway for my sports or just QB loving gals! Much more on the horizon too!  
**


	29. Chapter 29 Cowtake

**A/N When I asked for outtake suggestions, there was one that won above all others. More Willow! Well, here's your Willow ladies! I hope you like it. I laughed my ass of writing it. Poor Smugs. I hope you enjoy!**

Taste of Innocence Cowtake

"Edward, I need your help."

Her voice was filled with nerves and I looked up from my conference call with fucking Jenks. Bella stood in the doorway, her golden eyes wide with panic. Fuck me, I knew this was going to happen and I told her a billion fucking times that I was not going to get involved with this crap but of course, here she was and of course, here I fucking was, ready to drop everything to make that look on her face disappear.

"I'll call you later," I growled, shutting the laptop before he could get in a word edgewise.

A nervous smile flitted across her face because I stopped what I was doing. But was I going to make it easy on her? Of course fucking not. This was all her doing anyway.

"How in the hell am I supposed to help you, Bella?"

"I can't do it alone." She wrung her hands helplessly. She was so fucking cute with her hair pulled back in a braid and her jeans and t-shirt. I wanted to lick her.

"I told you back when we got the fucking thing that I wasn't going to take care of it."

"I know, but…"

"But nothing. It's your fucking problem, not mine. This was all your brilliant idea which I told you would fucking backfire but did you listen to me? No. You just gave me that look and I fucking gave in and now here you are asking for more help? I told you this would fucking happen."

She huffed angrily and I bit back a smile as the temper started to show on her face. Anything was better than that wild, scared look she was sporting.

"I can't do it alone! If something happens to her I'll die! Do you want me to die, Edward?"

I rolled my eyes at her fucking dramatics. "Technically, you're already dead, baby." I was about to say more but I broke off when the fireplace poker flew past my head and embedded itself in the wall. Fuck, she was really pissed off. I fucking loved it. "Really, Bella? You're going to get me to help you by throwing a temper tantrum?"

Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms. "There's not time to get you to do it by offering you sex."

She was fucking perfection. I laughed and got to my feet. "There's always time for sex, baby."

"Not while she's in pain, Edward. I'll fuck you for hours after you help me."

I crossed the room and kissed her soundly. "You do know the way to my heart, baby."

"More like the way to your cock," she muttered. I laughed and kissed her again. She started to melt into me, like always, but then she remembered her fucking priorities and shoved me away. Too fucking bad for me.

"Cock, heart, it all works the same when it comes to you." I gave her my best smile and she smiled back and grabbed my hand.

"Coming from anyone else that wouldn't be sweet. Now come on!"

I thought about making a crude comment about what I'd like to come on but thought better of it when she practically yanked my fucking arm out of the socket and into the barn. My girl had done quite a job in here, there was fresh hay in all the stalls and it shone like a fucking cathedral for her fucking cows. She led me to the last stall, where Willow lay on the fresh hay, mooing, her eyes rolling in obvious discomfort.

"We're here, baby. It'll all be okay," Bella crooned as she walked into the stall and knelt at Willow's head, stroking her coarse fur. She was practically making kissy faces at the stupid fucking thing.

"I think you're at the wrong end," I told her helpfully, not hiding my grin when she fucking hissed at me.

"She needs my comfort. You're the one that needs to be at the other end."

What the fuck did she just say? "Why the fuck would I be down there? I have never in my fucking life wanted to watch a cow give birth, Bella. This is your deal, not mine. I thought you wanted me here to keep you both fucking calm."

"Of course not! You need to help her get it out." She said it in that tone again, that tone I fucking hated that indicated I was a fucking dumbass for not thinking that she expected me to somehow help in the fucking miracle of cowbirth.

"Exactly how am I supposed to help her get it out? Push, Willow. Don't forget your breathing." My sarcastic words earned me a baleful glare from my girl that caused Edward Junior to stir in my jeans again. That fucker didn't give a shit about appropriate timing. Angry Bella equaled hard Edward Junior. It was like the quadratic equation for my fucking cock.

"You take those gloves," she gestured at some fucking doctor's type gloves that were lying across the stall door. "And you put them on and you reach inside her and grab the babies' legs and pull it out."

I was fucking hallucinating. My wife had not just told me that I was going to be reaching into a cow pussy and pulling out a fucking baby. That was just not fucking possible. "Don't we have a fucking vet? Where the hell is he? And why am I the one doing the pulling? She's your fucking cow, you get her baby out."

"Dr. Martin is out at the Morgan farm dealing with an emergency. He can't be here and he says it's easy and we can do it ourselves." She patted Willow when she had another contraction. I could see her stomach moving and it was really fucking gross.

"I'm surprised he isn't dropping everything to be here," I muttered sarcastically. That fucker wanted the hell out of my Bella and it took everything in me not to rip his fucking head off every time he came over; which was way fucking more than necessary. Of course the one time the fucker would actually be welcomed he had to be otherwise occupied.

"They're having some trouble with their goat and it needs emergency surgery." I shook my head. Emergency surgery for a fucking goat? Just let it die. It was a fucking goat. "Jim said all we have to do is get a good grip on the legs and pull. There's some tool that you can use, it's sitting against the wall there, but I doubt you'll need it."

I glanced at the metal pole thing that I had no fucking idea how to use. "What is this you shit, Bella? I am not reaching inside your fucking cow. You do it."

"I can't!" she shouted, throwing up her hands and startling Willow, who shifted a little and let out a louder moo. She sighed and started petting her again. "I'm too scared that I'll hurt her."

"And if I fucking hurt her, you'll castrate me. No fucking way am I doing it, Bella."

"You won't hurt her." She looked at me with those pleading golden eyes again that turned me into the whipped fucking pussy that I was with her. I was not fucking bending on this though.

"How do you know? I don't know the first thing about delivering a baby."

She snorted. "Please, like you haven't mentally seen it about a billion times?"

I glared at her. "Contrary to popular belief, I do not loiter in people's mental fucking images of having a fucking baby. That shit is fucking gross, for one thing. For another, having a kid is different from having a cow apparently. I haven't heard of a doctor having to shove his fucking hands up a pussy to pull out a baby. Can't we cut the fucking thing out?"

"She'd die!" Bella screamed. Of course she fucking would. She was a cow. Cows fucking died. My wife was fucking insane. "We're not cutting open my Willow!"

She looked like she was about to lose her shit so I sought to calm her the fuck down. "Okay, baby, no cutting open the cow. That doesn't explain why I have to be the fucking one to reach inside her. She's your fucking cow. We established that when you decided to keep her instead of eating her like you were supposed to."

Bella gave me that look again. No fucking way was it working this time. "I can't do it, Edward. I'm too scared that I'll use too much strength and hurt the baby. Willow would be crushed."

I'd like to fucking crush Willow. "Baby, she's a fucking cow. I don't think they have quite the same sentiment for offspring as people do." As Bella fucking did. You'd think she was the god damn father of the fucking thing instead of Xander the fucking bull, who was currently snorting around the pasture, no doubt pissed off that we were nearby. It happened just like I fucking told her it would when she weaseled the thing out of me. He fucking hated us and tried to charge her every time she came into his territory. Not to mention the fact that he fucked every single one of the cows other than Tara, who I was convinced really was a fucking lesbian cow. She'd been put out ever since Willow got pregnant. Who knew cows could fucking sulk?

Now we not only had pregnant Willow, but also Anya, Buffy, Sookie, Bonnie and Elena. Only Tara remained a virgin. I fucking told her this shit would happen but she didn't listen to me. My only saving grace was that she seemed to be content with her fucking cow harem and she didn't want anymore. I think she was running out of vampire TV show names, since she refused to name one Cordelia when I suggested it. Her hatred for Cordelia continued to amuse the fuck out of me. I might have fueled the flames every time she made me watch that fucking show with her.

"Are you telling me that she doesn't have feelings?" Oh, there it was, the danger tone that told me I was walking a thin fucking line again. I'd learned my lesson the last time and we weren't going to fucking go there again. I wanted to get laid sometime within the next fucking year.

"Of course not, baby. You know she loves you." My tone was completely sincere even if my words were a fucking crock. "I just don't think cows have the same attachment to their babies as humans do."

"Willow will! She'll feed her and cuddle with her and play with her." I wisely didn't say a fucking thing, though I wanted to ask how the fuck cows cuddled. They didn't have fucking arms to wrap around each other. Maybe laying next to one another counted in Bella's eyes.

"Okay, baby. Anyway, the point was, I know nothing about cow birth. I'm afraid that in the billions of thoughts I've read, not one of them was about fucking cow labor."

"Haven't you seen _City Slickers?"_

What the ever living fuck was she talking about? "Rain jackets? What the fuck do those have to do with anything? Are they condoms? Do they make bull condoms?"

She looked at me as if I was a fucking moron, which admittedly I felt like one right about now. "It's a movie."

"Sounds like a porno. Which, if it is, we should totally watch because it would be fucking hot."

Bella reached over and hurled a shovel that was leaning against the wall at me. I dodged it, laughing. "It's not a porno! It's a movie about these guys going to a cattle ranch. Billy Crystal has to help a cow have her baby." Bella bit her lip and her eyes filled with sadness. "She had to be killed because she was dying but they saved the baby. I don't want Willow to die, Edward."

Oh, Jesus fucking Christ, she slayed me. I walked over and knelt next to her and Willow on the uncomfortable fucking straw. I wrapped my arms around her and she leaned against me. "Willow won't die, baby. Cows have babies all the fucking time, just like people, and most of them are just fine."

She buried her face in my neck. "Will you help us, please?"

I sighed. I was fucking done for, as always when it came to my girl. "Yes, I'll help you." God fucking help me; I was going to be reaching up a cow's crotch and pulling out her fucking calf. Add that to the list of shit that I never thought I'd do in this fucking existence. Most of the shit, like falling in love and getting married had been great. I highly doubted this would be in the same fucking realm though. "What do I fucking do?"

I could tell Bella was distracted because I'd used the word "fuck" a shitload and she hadn't yelled about it once.

"You need to put on the gloves and then reach inside her and feel around for the legs. Grip them firmly and pull her gently out."

Yeah, that sounded fucking easy as hell if you weren't the one with your hands in a cow's fucking uterus. "I must really fucking love you."

She beamed at me and gave me a smacking kiss. "You do. And I really fucking love you too, which is why I'm going to jump your sexy body as soon as this baby is born and we're sure they're both okay."

And now I had even more fucking motivation to get the fucking cow out. I got up and put on the medical gloves, frowning at how short they were. "Bella, I think that…"

Willow let out a very loud moo and her stomach contracted again. "Edward, it's time! Reach in there!"

I could not fucking believe that I was doing this, but she looked so fucking scared as she stroked Willow's heaving side that I knew I had no choice. I crouched down next to her ass and wrinkled my nose. She smelled worse than usual, probably because of all sorts of disgusting shit like fluid and birth juice or whatever the fuck was going on down here. I pushed her tail out of the way and reached slowly toward her. This fucking cow better not kick me while she had a contraction or she could just have her fucking baby on her own. Seriously, why the fuck couldn't they just push them out like other animals?

Willow bellowed again and I saw her fucking hole actually open a little bit. So fucking gross. I wondered if this was going to put me off sex for awhile. No, that wasn't fucking possible.

"Hurry Edward," Bella pleaded, resting her head on Willows and crooning into her ear. Jesus fucking Christ, my girl was singing to a fucking cow. We both needed to go to Bellevue.

"I'm trying, Bella. This is not exactly something I've ever fucking done before." She continued to sing to Willow as I finally got to her fucking opening and started to push my hands in. I felt her contracting around me which was really fucking weird and gross and if I could fucking hurl I would be doing it right about now. As it was my stomach clenched and I gagged.

"Don't be a baby," Bella scolded, still not looking at me because she was all about her fucking cow, never mind the fact that I was the one who was sticking my hands inside her fucking vagina. It was the first time in history that I was inside a girl that I didn't fucking want to be. Well, the second time. Victoria was the first.

I gagged again when I felt the warm gushing fluid against my skin, because those fucking gloves were too short. This was so fucking disgusting. Her muscles gripped my forearms and I shuddered but kept going. The sooner I fucking got in there, the sooner I'd be done.

After what seemed like hours but was probably only a few seconds, I felt something hard with my left hand. I felt around and realized it was a leg, thank fucking God. I reached with the right as well and after a little groping, got a hold of the other leg. I heard a click and glanced up to see Bella taking pictures with her digital camera.

"You are not fucking taking pictures of me with my hands inside your fucking cow," I told her angrily.

"I'm recording the miracle of birth!" she replied with a little giggle. She was fucking enjoying my torture. Some wife she was.

"I'm breaking that camera," I told her, gripping the legs and starting to tug, as gently as fucking possible. Time to get this fucking thing out of her stupid fucking mother. Then I was going to kill fucking Xander so I would never have to go through this bullshit again. Then I was going to take a shower and scrub myself for about an hour and then I would fuck Bella for the rest of the day, because I'd fucking earned it.

"I think I'll send some pictures to Jenks. He'll get a kick out of it." She took another fucking photo while I glared at her.

"You will do no such thing. I have an image to maintain, and whipped pussy is not it. Only you get to see that."

She put down the camera and patted Willow again. "How are you doing?"

I knew she didn't give a damn how the fuck I was doing, so I didn't bother to tell her that I was in my own personal fucking hell. "I have the legs."

She lit up in a smile that warmed me despite the disgust I felt at what I was fucking doing. I moved painfully slowly, trying to ignore the gushing around me and the increasing speed of the contractions. If I moved too fast I'd probably rip the damn thing in half and then Bella would kill me.

I was finally only to my wrists inside the fucking cow. Freedom was so close. "All I do is keep pulling it out?" I asked. I couldn't fuck this up now, not after I'd already done the worst part.

"Yes," Bella told me, leaning forward excitedly as I began to pull my hands out of the fucking cow vagina, holding lightly onto the legs as I breathed a sigh of relief when my hands were no longer surrounded by convulsing uterus. Thank God that Bella couldn't have a baby. I could never live through the experience, nor could her doctor because I would kill him for touching her beautiful pussy.

The hooves were now out and I continued to pull slowly, trying to ignore how fucking disgusting the legs were, covered with blood and goo and God knew what else. I got the legs all the way out. "Now what?"

"Reach back inside." Fuck me, not again. "And help guide the head out. Then you can pull the legs again and she should come right out."

I bit back an angry retort and pushed my hands back inside, finding the head right away and positioning my hands on either side as I gently tugged it out as well. The head and front legs were now out and I gripped them again and pulled at the same time as Willow had another contraction and out the fucker popped, along with a gush of fluids that landed all over my shirt and jeans. I would rather get beaten with my grandfather's fucking cane than have this shit all over me, that's how fucking foul it was.

Bella was clapping and hugging Willow, like she'd done any fucking thing other than lay there and let me do all the fucking work. "It's a boy, Willow. You have a son!"

Willow responded to this by letting out a moo. There was your fucking motherly devotion. The cow, or fucking bull I guess, was pretty fucking comical, wobbling on his legs and looking confused as all hell. He was the spitting image of his soon to be dead fucking father, with tan fur and big, stupid eyes.

Bella crawled over next to me and wrinkled her nose in disgust at the sight of me. I gave her a look that dared her to fucking say something but she just leaned forward and gave me a quick kiss. "Thank you, Edward. You don't know what this means to me."

But I fucking did, because it shone in her eyes and her face was as nearly as happy as it was when we got married. She loved her fucking cows and I'd helped her with them so I was fucking golden. As it should be.

I stood up, pulling off the gloves as I readied to go shower and then burn my fucking clothes. Bella took my hand and stopped me from leaving.

"What should we name him?"

I rolled my eyes. Like there weren't plenty of fucking vampires to choose from? "I don't know. It's a good thing it's not a girl, you've run out of those names."

She giggled. "There's still plenty more." I feared what that fucking meant and hoped to God we weren't getting anymore DVDs. She grinned up at me. "I think maybe I'll name him after my favorite vampire."

I rolled my eyes. "Angel it is then."

She shook her head and kissed me again. It was hard not to pull her against me but I didn't want to make her disgusting too. Although, then we could shower together which would be a much more enjoyable activity.

I broke our kiss. "Who then?"

She reached up and trailed a finger down my nose. "Edward is my favorite vampire."

I grinned at her. "He is, is he? What show is he on?"

"The Story of My Life," she replied. "It's my favorite."

I kissed her again and this time, mindless of the fact that I was covered in cow afterbirth, she threw herself into my arms.

When we broke off, I smiled at her. "Mine too, but we're not naming a cow after me."

She giggled. "Okay, we'll call him Spike."

"You had that in reserve, didn't you?"

"Of course." Of course she fucking did. That was my fucking crazy ass girl. "Let's go take a shower." My fucking crazy ass, incredible girl.

"Okay. Then we're fucking. Then we're killing that bull."

She giggled and tugged me out of the barn, leaving Willow and Spike to bond or whatever the fuck cows did. "We could just castrate him, like we're going to have to do with Spike."

I stopped and stared at her. "I am not going to fucking touch another animal's balls, baby. I draw the fucking line right there."

Bella laughed uproariously. "Gotcha. We'll have the vet do it." She snapped a photo of my stunned ass and ran into the house, still chortling away.

Yeah, we'd have the vet do it. Maybe while he was busy handling their balls he could help me find mine. "Are you coming?" she called and I heard the water turn on. I ran inside. Who the fuck needed balls anyway?

* * *

**A/N Remember, if you have any suggestions, let me know. I've got a few more to write but I'll happily accommodate whatever you like. Clearly my twisted mind has no boundaries. hehe Just think, there are more pregnant cows. The vet better show up for the rest of them though. **

**Thanks for reading!  
**


	30. Chapter 30 The Hellmoutake

**A/N I'm having a crappy day so I decided to improve it by posting this a bit early. I hope you enjoy!**

The Hellmoutake

"I don't see why the fuck they have to come here," I hissed, watching Bella putter around like a busy fucking bee, straightening the living room that was already fucking immaculate.

"Maybe because we haven't gone there?" she replied calmly, fluffing a fucking pillow like Martha Fucking Stewart. I huffed in annoyance and she just fucking ignored my ass like she'd been doing ever since the fucking phone call informing her of their impending visit had come in.

"But why do we have to see them at all?" It didn't make any fucking sense. They were just dropping by for a visit? My ass. They were dropping by to ogle my girl, and, with my fucking luck, me too. I just knew that fucking Alec wasn't going to let the chance to see my gorgeous self again pass him by.

"Demetri said he's been telling his boss all about us, Willow, and Buffy and he's curious about us." Of course he fucking was. The leader of the fucking Volturi wanted to find out what the fuck was wrong with Bella and probably study both of us like fucking lab rats. Well, he wasn't fucking studying me. "He says that he wants to watch Buffy with me, since I'm an expert." She said this like it was something to be fucking proud of. My girl, the Buffy expert. Try as I might, I could not convince her that it was a ridiculous fucking show that made no sense and was a huge fucking insult to our kind.

"Baby, do you really think that the Volturi are just coming here to watch your fucking vampire DVDs and pet your fucking cows? They're probably coming to destroy us." Or more likely, destroy me and take her back to Italy. Maybe it was a good fucking thing Alec was so attached to me. Or not…which was worse? Being dead and having Bella be some Volturi fuck toy or being alive and being Alec's? Fuck, this was not cool.

She stopped her puttering and glared at me. Edward Junior immediately stood at attention. He was like a fucking trained dog. "First of all, Demetri is our friend." I sneered at that and she tossed what appeared to be an ashtray at my head. What the fuck did we have an ashtray for? I let it fly past me and smash against the wall, because we did not fucking need an ashtray. Humans were not going to be loitering in my fucking house filling it with fucking smoke.

"Second of all, they are not _fucking cows." _The last two words ended in a scream of frustration and the heat of her glare had Edward Junior doing his dance and singing his theme song. Fuck, she was hot. Poke at the angry bear or not? Poke, of course.

"Well, they're not fucking anymore after you castrated Xander." I had not had one hand in that shit, nor in the births of any of the other fucking babies loitering around our pasture. I was one and fucking done. I had to admit, Spike had some style. He was constantly trying to break out of the pasture and he was already sniffing around his stupid half-siblings, not that he'd be able to fuck them anytime soon. He was scheduled for his own castration sometime in the near future. Edward Junior would be the only functioning cock around these parts, as he fucking should be.

"Why are you being such a prick about this? They're stopping in for a few hours and then they'll be on their way back to Italy."

"Why do you believe a word they say? He fucking wants you, Bella. You saw it when he was here. I fucking hear it when he's around you. They're probably going to try to kill me and then take you away."

Bella strode across the room and took my face in her hands. "Nobody will ever take me away from you. I love you and I belong with you. I don't know why you insist upon seeing every male in the world as an enemy. Demetri knows how I feel about you and even if he did kill you, I'd never go with him. I'd die, too." She punctuated this statement with a searing kiss that made me forget all about fucking asshole Greeks. I grabbed her ass and pushed her back toward the couch, falling down and flattening her freshly fucking fluffed pillows. I didn't feel remotely bad about that either.

She moaned beneath me and I reached between us to flick open the button of her jeans. It had been nearly a day since I'd had her last, since she'd been in a fucking tizzy over their visit ever since the call came in.

_Do they really live here? Is this a farm? Why would vampires willingly live on a farm? They must be as strange as Demetri said they were._

Fucking cockblocking Volturi assholes. I growled and refastened Bella's jeans. She looked at me in confusion for a moment but then her face cleared. "They're here?"

_I get to see her again, at last. It's been far too long. _Fucking Demetri, still lusting after my wife.

"Yes," I growled, not bothering to hide my fucking frustration. Why the fuck we couldn't just be left alone with her stupid cows and nobody else was beyond me. But no, I had a fucking father-in-law that I had to go see every couple of months, a horny veterinarian that lived to ogle my wife, fucking Jenks, and now we apparently had a happy little band of fucking vampire friends, who may or may not want to kill me. Not to mention the fact that we were going to be going to school together in a couple months. More fucking humans to deal with, and apparently not kill. Bella had already laid down the fucking law about feeding on our fellow students. We'd just see about that shit.

I sat back and Bella practically skipped her fucking way over to the front door, smiling happily. She didn't give a damn that she'd just been deprived of Edward Junior. What the fuck was wrong with her? I was ready to weep over the loss of her beautiful pussy. If I fucking died without being inside her one more time, there would be hell to pay in whatever afterlife I fucking encountered. God or the devil, it didn't fucking matter. I'd be kicking someone's fucking ass.

I stood up and followed behind her. I wasn't about to risk those fuckers grabbing her and running, not that they could possibly outrun me but still. Bella wasn't going to be let out of my fucking sight until they were on their way back to Italy. I grabbed the gloves I'd stashed on the front table and pulled them on. I knew about Aro's gift through Demetri and fuck if he was going to be touching me and making my memories his own. I had a theory about Bella so I didn't offer her the gloves. If he could read her, we were fucked, but if I couldn't, then I was pretty sure that old fucker couldn't.

"Hi!" she called, waving and moving toward the end of the drive. I heaved a sigh and walked along beside her, slipping my arm around her waist and pulling her into my side. Yeah, I knew it was possessive as fuck but I didn't give a damn. She was mine and those fucking bastards needed to know and accept it.

They came around the bend and mother of fuck, Alec was with them. His eyes were right on me, as if he knew where I'd be standing when he came into view. It was fucking freaky as hell, the way he ran his eyes over me hungrily. Jesus Christ, Bella damn well better ride me for at least 24 hours to make up for this bullshit.

Between Alec and Demetri was the big boss, Aro, with long, stringy black hair and an almost translucent skin. If I fucking looked like that when I was three thousand years old I'd toss myself into a fucking fire, no doubt about it. He wore some ridiculous fucking black cloak, and actually so did the other two. I started to sneer at the fashion choice but caught myself just in time. No point in pissing them off from the start.

His blood red eyes took us in as they came to a stop right in front of us. I kept one eye on him and the other on Demetri, doing my best to pretend Alec wasn't mentally undressing me and running his hands over my naked body. Bella now owed me 48 hours of fucking though.

"Hello," Bella was practically vibrating under my hand she was so fucking excited. "I'm Bella and this is Edward. Welcome to our home." She addressed Aro, I guess because he was the big fucking cheese or whatever.

"Hello, Mrs. Cullen. It is a delight to meet you." His voice, when he spoke, was gravely and soft. I swear to fuck it looked like the wind could blow him away if there was a particularly strong gust. Aro held out his hand and Bella took it. His face went blank and I fought back a grin.

_Nothing. Not one thing from her. Demetri said she was a conundrum but I never dreamed that I would be unable to read her. This is quite strange. I guess I'll have to get everything from him. What is going on with her eyes? Why are they golden?_

He released Bella's hand and held his out to mine. I kept my glove on and shook his hand, while his eyes flared with what could have only been anger. Too bad, fucker. "Sorry, I'm afraid that I need to go examine one of the cows. We value hygiene around here." Bella gaped at me but wisely didn't say anything to cover my ridiculous fucking lie.

_A perfectly plausible excuse, I suppose. But more likely that he's hiding something from me. He must know of my gift. I will watch this one, closely._

"Edward, how are you?" Demetri clapped me on the shoulder before practically shoving me aside so he could wrap his arms around Bella. Motherfucker. She returned his hug, which lingered way fucking longer than it needed to. I bit back the growl and quickly whirled to face Alec, who had snuck up behind me and was thinking about pressing up against me from behind.

"Hey, Alec. It's lovely of you to visit me and my _wife." _Emphasis on the word, so you can try to get it through your thick skull that you will never be fucking me.

_Wife. Foolish boy. You don't know what you're missing, dearest Edward. But I will be more than happy to show you. Just one kiss and I could make you mine forever. _

Fucking hell. I couldn't turn my back on the gay bastard or his dick might be in my ass before I could even react, yet I needed to get Demetri the fuck off my wife and make sure the ancient fucker didn't touch me and find out about my gift. Why in God's name had she ever thought this was a good idea?

"Where's Felix?" Bella asked. Oh yeah, that's all I needed, the giant asshole on top of the other three.

"He's returning to Italy with the new friend we acquired." I got a vision of a female vampire that could move objects with her mind. That would be rather fucking cool. "He sends his regards, though, and is very sorry he couldn't lay eyes on your lovely form again." Demetri's voice was smooth as fucking butter. I wanted to rip his fucking throat out.

Bella laughed and untangled herself from his grasp, which was a very good fucking thing as ripping off his arms might be viewed as bad hosting form. Not that I really gave a fuck.

Alec stepped so close that he was right up in my personal space and I really was going to have to flatten his ass but Bella stepped between us and gave him a bright smile. "It's nice to see you again, Alec."

She was my angel. I wrapped my arms around her waist and she leaned back against me as she continued to grin at him. "You too," he muttered. _Peasant. Look at you, in jeans and a t-shirt. What does he possibly see in you, beyond the disgusting woman parts? I have so much more to offer. He will see how much better for him I am than she is._

I shuddered and Bella put her hands on the sides of my legs and squeezed gently. She knew what I was going through and she offered me sympathy the only way she could, right now. Later she could offer me the best kind, which involved my cock and her pussy and a whole lot of fucking.

"Why don't we all go inside while Edward tends to the cow?" Bella suggested, taking my lie and rolling with it like the incredible fucking woman that she was.

"Actually, I'm quite interested in what goes on in this place." There was a hint of distaste in Aro's voice as he glanced around our property. "I should like to see these pets of yours." _I'm calling your bluff, if you're making one, young man._

Fucking hell. Bella tugged free from my grip and led the way into the barn. "Most of the cows just had babies within the last two months," she told the Volturi, as if they really gave a damn. Of course, Demetri appeared to be hanging on her every word, but he was nearly as pussy whipped for her as I was. It was sadder for him because he wasn't ever going to get any though.

_How can a creature so incredible live in this, this cow pasture? _Alec was beyond horrified. Good. Maybe he'd be turned off by my chosen lifestyle, just like I'd been before we actually got here. I was kind of glad I was going to be pretending to examine one of the cows.

"The bull calves are nearly ready to be castrated." Every single one of the vampires, accepting me because I'd long ago accepted the concept, hissed at her words. I snorted and walked toward Willow's stall, which she still shared with Spike. "Edward will be examining Spike's balls, to see how he's doing. I'm considering one of the bloodless methods, wherein you cut off the blood supply and uh, they fall off."

I wanted to laugh at the expressions on their faces, but I was still stuck on the words "Edward will be examining Spike's balls." Bella grinned impishly at me, knowing exactly what she'd done. I couldn't fucking argue with Aro there, waiting for me to inspect a cow. She'd fucking pay for this later.

"Seventy-two hours of fucking," I mouthed to her. She giggled and gave me a quick nod, her eyes shining with mischief. I was glad one of us was fucking amused.

"You're really going to touch him, there?" Aro asked, watching me closely. He wanted to see if I'd back out so he could then touch me. Not very fucking likely, old man.

_I've got some balls for him to handle. _Just fucking kill me now. Seriously, if these fuckers were here to kill me, and they let me go through with examining Spike's fucking balls first, I was going to take them with me. Maybe I couldn't get all three, but so help me, the old man would fucking die. And Alec, too, so he couldn't have any more visions of me handling his fucking balls. Like I could fucking leave Demetri behind though, to go after my woman. All three would need to die. I could do it, as long as Bella helped.

I hopped over the fence into the stall, and eyed Spike. He and I were actually on fairly decent terms, maybe because I was the one who brought him into the world while his fucking mother lay around like the lazy ass that she was. He shifted a little when I got to his side but he didn't try to run or anything, which I took as a good fucking sign.

"So, baby, what exactly is it that I need to do?" I shot a smile at Aro, trying to appear unaffected by the horror that she was inflicting upon me. "Bella's the cow expert; I'm just the one he gets stuck with most of the dirty work." The fucking disgusting dirty work.

"Just reach back there and touch them, see if they feel tender or infected at all."

_Better him than me. Bella is the most beautiful vampire I've ever encountered but clearly he loves her more than I ever could. _Damn fucking right, Demetri. Nobody could ever love her as much as I did.

With that thought, I gripped Spike's hips. He snorted and bucked but of course he couldn't remotely move me. I reached between his legs and squeezed his fucking balls, moving so quickly that I don't think he even knew what the fuck I did before I released him.

"Not swollen. Everything's just fine," I told Bella, who was shaking as she did her best to hold in her laughter. I hopped back over the fence and grinned at the gaping vampires. "Shall we go inside?" Like I fucking came in to the barn and felt up a fucking bull every day. I was such a smooth motherfucker, really. Spike finally let out a bellow of rage, but I was already out of the stall so he didn't have anybody to take his rage out upon. His mother, as usual, was completely unconcerned by everything that went on around her. She was such a weird fucking animal.

"One second, Edward," Bella replied. She made some sort of ridiculous kissy face and damned if Willow didn't saunter over to poke her head over the side of the fence. Bella patted her and grinned at Demetri. "This is Willow. Willow, this is Demetri, Alec and Aro. They came by to say hello."

_She is very strange, this golden eyed vampire. I don't know what to make of her. Or of him, other than he's clearly besotted with her. Perhaps living here has made him daft. _I couldn't respond to the insult in Aro's feeble fucking mind, but I damn well wanted to. I wasn't daft, I was avoiding letting the old man touch me. I was fucking brilliant and if he had any more negative thoughts about me, I might just shove one of Spike's balls down his fucking throat.

Demetri, being the asshole that he was, was petting Willow with a smile on his face. I raised a brow at him and he shrugged. _I suppose dealing with these creatures wouldn't be so bad, so long as I had Bella at my side while I was doing it. _I glared at him and he grinned and gave Willow one final pat.

"She's certainly very sweet and docile, isn't she?" Bella beamed at him like he'd just complimented her first born, which in a way he just had. Alec threw back his head and let out a little sniff that was clearly meant to show that he was above all this mess. Uptight motherfucker.

Aro lifted one of his decrepit fucking hands and patted her on the head lightly. "She doesn't run," he murmured, looking at her strangely. _How can this creature not fear us? Any I've encountered has run away instantly upon catching my scent._

"No, she doesn't," Bella responded, cooing at her crazy fucking pet. "She knows she has nothing to fear from us."

Aro studied Bella with interest. "But how could she possibly know that? She is just an animal. They are lower beings. You eat animals, for some strange reason, yes? And I could snap her neck with one move if I wanted to."

Bella's eyes narrowed and a deep growl sounded in the back of her throat. I wrapped my arms around her and tried to get her to relax, but of course, he'd said exactly the wrong fucking thing to her and there was no turning back now.

She pointed her finger at him. "Willow is very smart. She's got finely honed instincts and she knows I love her. And she knows damn well that I would never let anything happen to her. If anyone ever hurt her, they would have to deal with me, and I'm sure your two cronies could tell you that I'm not exactly a pushover. Do you know what I mean?" The threat was clear as day in her tone; her glare could have melted a human.

Jesus fucking Christ, my girl was facing down the leader of the Volturi. Edward Junior immediately responded to the heat in her tone and was more than ready to have at her, regardless of our fucking company. As if they were ever going to be allowed to see my wife naked. Not going to happen, horny motherfucker. You just back the fuck off.

Aro patted Willow one more time before holding up his hands in a sign of peace. _Now I see what Demetri was talking about. She is magnificent in her anger. No wonder her man is so willing to do anything she says._

Fuck you, Aro. You don't know shit about us, and what I will and won't do for my girl.

"I was just theorizing, Dear Isabella. I would never think of hurting your pet." _I wouldn't mind angering you in some other way though. I think I would find it very stimulating._

Fucking perverted old vampire. Of course he fucking wanted her. I growled softly and his ruby eyes focused on me. He smiled at me. "I can see why you are so quick to do your wife's bidding. She is quick to anger."

Bella huffed and I hurried and responded before she could. "I love her when she's angry." I kissed her cheek and her stance relaxed a little bit under my touch. "I often push her buttons just to set her off, because the sex is fucking spectacular." Take that, you ancient prick. Bella hissed and elbowed me in the gut while I laughed. "See? If you weren't here I'd push her against the wall and…"

"Why don't we go inside," Bella interrupted, glaring at me. "I believe you wanted to watch Buffy?"

_Such heat between these two. I remember when_ _Sulpicia and I were so volatile. _His mind filled with a bunch of violent sex scenes that I really didn't want to fucking see. His wife was a hag and he certainly wasn't anything in the looks department, at least not compared to me.

Aro held out his arm to Bella like some old time movie fucker and she smiled a little and looped her arm through his. He was trying to charm her now and of course it was fucking working. I fell into step on her other side and Alec and Demetri followed behind us, with Alec staring at my ass. I should have worn some loose fucking clothing instead of my jeans, clearly.

"So tell me, my dear, have you always been fascinated by vampires?" Aro's voice was smooth and he was very happy about being away from the cows.

Bella giggled. "I guess I was. I was pretty young when Buffy came out but I watched it in syndication as soon as I got in my teens. It's always been my favorite show."

"What kind of name is Buffy?" Aro asked. I smirked when Bella's smile became a frown.

"Well, I don't know, it was originally a movie and that was her name, so that's what they went with. I like it. All of my cows have names from the show, and a couple of others since we have so many cows."

Her voice was a little frosty and of course Aro noticed. "I apologize, my dear, it's just not a name I've ever heard before."

Bella brightened as we walked into the house, me falling behind now since they were still attached to one another. "It's original. All the names are, really. I think the closest to normal are Tara, Faith and Dawn. Willow, Xander, Giles, Angel, Spike, Anya, Cordelia, Oz; they're all really original and cool."

_How odd. She seems quite excited about the whole thing. I'll humor her. _"And all your cows bear those names?"

Bella wrinkled her nose as she disentangled her arm from Aro's and walked over to the blue ray player, turning it and the gigantic ass TV on. "Well, except for Cordelia. I wouldn't name one of my babies after her."

Aro glanced at me and I smirked as I threw myself down in the recliner. Still not gonna touch me old man. I took my gloves off and his eyes went to my hands. Nope, decrepit fucker, you don't get touch.

"Bella doesn't like Cordelia, mainly because I find her hot." Bella hissed and I tugged her into my lap before she could go sit on the couch. Let those assholes all sit together. I was holding my girl. She frowned at me and I gave her my best smile. Her lips twitched and she fought not to smile back at me.

"I see," Aro replied, looking around the room. _It's not nearly as bad in here as it is on the outside. I prefer my stone and marble to wood but at least it shines and looks somewhat inhabitable._

Pretentious fucker. "Please, have a seat." I gestured at the sofa and Aro sank down on the end closest to us. Stupid prick still thought he could possibly get his hands on me. Alec had a better fucking chance than he did. Demetri sat in the armchair across from us, so he could keep an eye on Bella, of course, and Alec sat at the other end of the couch.

_I bet he's been naked in this very spot. _Holy obsessive motherfucker. I mean, I had, but Jesus Christ. We were throwing out the fucking couch as soon as they left. I really hoped he didn't rub one out while he sat there imagining me naked in that fucking spot. I'd be forced to fucking kill him, which might not go over too well with the big bossman.

"Demetri tells me that you feel we should be watching these programs in order to know what humans think of us," Aro addressed Bella.

She nodded emphatically. "Yes! I think that knowing how humans perceive vampires should make it easier to maintain anonymity." Listen to my fucking girl, sounding all professional and shit. I beamed and kissed her neck, smirking as Demetri frowned at my gesture of affection.

"The Volturi exist to see to it that our kind are shielded from humanity," Aro replied, sounding so fucking proud of himself. I wanted to smack the snotty look off his face but he was so frail that I'd probably send his fucking head flying.

"Yes, you do, which is why I think you should know what humans picture vampires to be like," Bella replied. "There are humans in the world that do believe, or at least they want to. By avoiding the stereotypes of the modern TV vampire, you'll continue to remain unknown." Bella smiled at him and Aro smiled in return, because it was impossible not to fucking smile at my girl when she smiled at you.

_She makes some sense, I suppose. It wouldn't hurt to see what the world thinks of the vampire. _"I shall be happy to watch with you, Dearest Isabella."

What was this Isabella bullshit? I tensed and Bella stroked my left knee to keep me from doing or saying anything stupid. My girl knew me well.

"I'm going to show you the first episode. It will explain everything." Bella pressed play and snuggled back against me, leaning her head on my left shoulder. Alec sighed and imagined himself in Bella's place while Demetri wished it was his lap that she was perched on. It was like a fucking soap opera in my fucking living room. This one wants that one wants this one wants that one. Why the fuck couldn't they just leave the two that actually wanted each other the fuck alone?

"What is a hellmouth?" Aro asked, his face scrunched up in distaste at the foreign word.

I snorted. "Watch and find out." And be even more horrified than I was, old man.

_Slayer? Do the humans actually think they can destroy us? How cute. _Ha, he wasn't pissed yet. We'd see how long that fucking lasted.

"Why would children break into a school?" Demetri wondered aloud. Bella shushed him and he looked properly chastised. That's right, fucker, don't question her precious show. No, wait, actually, go ahead and do it. Make her hate you. That would be fucking fine by me.

Alec was just staring at me instead of looking at the fucking TV. It was creeping me the fuck out. _Come away with me. I can give you so much more than she ever could. _I was seriously going to become the first vampire in the world that could fucking throw up from emotional trauma. How fucking human of me.

"What is wrong with that girl's face? Wait a minute, she's a vampire?" Aro glared at the screen and then at Bella, which pissed me the fuck off. How dare he blame her for this crappy fucking show's portrayal of vampires?

_They think our faces look like that when we eat? It's positively insulting! Who came up with this nonsense? I will end them. _Now that was more fucking like it! It was time for the Volturi to deal with the racist propaganda that Hollywood spewed about our kind.

"Yes. It's something they got wrong, obviously. Which is good for us," Bella responded, not taking her eyes from the screen. God forbid she miss a second of her beloved fucking show, even though she'd seen it about a billion fucking times by now.

Demetri sat forward as Buffy thrashed about the bed. _This show just got a lot more interesting._

"This child is the slayer?" Aro asked. "Why is she going to school?"

Bella gripped my leg tightly. "Because she has to pretend to be a normal person." He glanced at me and I just shook my head.

"Ahhh, there is your cow's namesake. She's kind of plain, isn't she?" Demetri asked. Oooh, he was taking his life in his fucking hands.

"Willow happens to become a very powerful witch," Bella replied testily. Demetri's face fell a bit at the tone she used on him. Stupid fucker. Only I can get away with questioning her fucking ridiculous taste in TV shows.

"And a lesbian," I supplied helpfully. Demetri laughed when Bella elbowed me.

"That's not important."

"Says you," I replied. She huffed and turned back to the TV.

"She burned down a gym full of vampires? Had she already ripped them apart?" Aro asked.

"No, they don't do that on this show. Sunlight can kill them and they go up in flames. Also, a stake to the heart."

"That's ridiculous. Nobody could pierce our bodies with a piece of wood," Aro replied, beginning to sound huffy in his own right. I laughed at his obvious displeasure. This was turning out to be way more fun than I thought it would be. _Who created this atrocity? They must be dealt with swiftly and decisively. But first we'll show them what vampires are really like. _It seemed old Joss wasn't long for this world. I tried to hide my glee at the situation.

_Are there no handsome men on this show? That boy is not remotely attractive. _I wondered what would happen when Alec got a load of Angel. Clearly Xander didn't do it for him.

"That's Cordelia," I pointed out helpfully as she shared her book with Buffy. Demetri perked up a little at the sight of her. _She's nearly as stunning as Bella is. _Wisely he didn't voice that fucking thought.

"She's kind of rude, isn't she?" Demetri asked. Bella bestowed him with a wide smile and he lit right up under her approval. Fucking kiss ass.

"He knows what she is?" Aro asked, when Giles slammed down the fucking Vampyre book in front of him.

"He's her watcher," Bella told him. I waited for Aro to ask more but surprisingly he didn't. _How long is this program? How much more of it do I have to endure? How could such a fascinating girl find this to be good entertainment?_

I'd asked myself that a billion times but still had no answer. Still, it was part of who my girl was and he better not fucking insult her taste. She had, after all, chosen me. Clearly she wasn't that flawed.

"That vampire disposed of a body on campus? Why would she be so stupid? She would surely be destroyed by their governing society."

"They really don't have one," I told Aro. There's a few, as they call them, big bads, but there isn't a Volturi that cares about exposure. The vampires all pretty much do whatever the fuck they want."

"How foolish." _Other vampires must not see this program. There could be a rebellion._

It took quite a bit of self control not to react to that foolishness.

"She's not very good at hiding her identity, is she?" Demetri asked.

"Well, it's who she is," Bella replied, actually looking at him, which made him sit up and smile brightly. "She hears about a murder and she knows that it's probably a vampire and she has to investigate."

"Vampires have blood?" Aro demanded. "How is that remotely possible?"

I shrugged. "Blood, venom, it's not that different a process. We suck their blood and give them our venom instead of blood. They actually nail that portion of things."

Aro grumbled something about historical inaccuracies under his breath. "This man is her boss?"

"Giles is her watcher; he trains her and helps her with the lore. She's the one that does most of the fighting though."

"So he…watches?" Alec supplied sarcastically. _This fellow does have a yummy accent. And he's not that bad on the eyes, for an old guy._

"Buffy is very lonely," Demetri cut in.

Bella gave him another sunny smile. This was fucking irritating. "She is. Only Giles knows what she is and she has a hard time keeping friends, well, until now that is." _Maybe that's the way to her heart. I can pretend to like her silly show. It's not so bad, really. _Scheming prick, not even pretending to like this crap would sway Bella's heart from me.

"These vampires live in a sewer?" Aro asked, horrified. I started laughing so hard that Bella nearly fell off my lap. I thought about pointing out that the Volturi apparently had a lot of underground tunnels and whatnot but figured it might not go over so well.

She paused the show and turned to glare at both of us. "They're bringing the first vampire back from the dead." Aro opened his mouth and I shook my head quickly. Don't even fucking ask, old man. "He's cursed to live down there until the harvest moon, only then can they break the spell and release him."

"I see," Aro replied. Bella turned back to the show and he nodded at me to let me know he'd received my fucking message. I didn't really mind if he pissed her off, as long as she behaved while they were here and I reaped the fucking benefits after they left.

"Who is that?" Alec asked abruptly. Of fucking course. There was Angel.

"That's Angel," Bella replied, in that annoying, dreamy fucking tone that she reserved for him.

_Hmmm, well hello, Angel. You're not quite as hot as my beautiful Edward but you would certainly do for a little fun._

"He is a vampire who hates his own kind?" Aro asked, anger in his tone.

"Angel is a vampire with a soul," Bella replied. Again, Aro wanted to say something and again, I shook my head, grateful that she wasn't looking at me.

_Angel is a traitor of his kind. Were he real, I would be forced to end him. And what kind of name for a vampire is Angel? Are they that obvious? Where's the mystery?_

"She finds him attractive?" Demetri asked.

"Oh yes. They fall in love," Bella replied, in that tone again.

"A vampire and a human, a human that is supposed to slay vampires?" Demetri shook his head. "Well, I guess I see where the conflict comes in."

"Yes, it's quite tragic and heartbreaking," Bella sighed, leaning back against me. I linked my fingers with hers in silent comfort. She always got so fucking maudlin when it came to Angel and Buffy's doomed romance.

"Why doesn't he just change her? Isn't that what Edward did to you?" Aro demanded. _If he loves her, he should make her his forever. Why leave her human?_

"Because she doesn't want to be changed, nor does he want to change her. He loves her and wants what's best for her."

_That makes absolutely no sense. See, want, take; that's what vampires do. That's what they always should do._

That's what I had fucking done. I kissed Bella's neck and she sighed. "And yes, he did change me, without my consent. Had he actually asked, I probably would have said yes."

"Eventually," I responded. "But it was more fun to change you then and deal with the fallout." I kissed behind her ear. "You enjoyed it too, baby. Our version of foreplay."

Alec gagged. "When is this Angel going to return?" he asked testily. _If Edward must continue to lavish attention on his ridiculous female, at least I should be able to enjoy the pretty TV vampire. I should get something out of this unfortunate visit. Aro won't let me just take Edward, though I don't understand why._

That was good to hear. I was apparently off limits to gay boy. One fucking worry down, a billion others to deal with.

"What is that thing?"

"That's The First," Bella told him.

"Why is he so hideous looking? And why is his face different from all the others?" I actually thought Aro rather resembled The First but I wasn't about to fucking say so.

"Well, he's been underground for thousands of years. I guess that takes its toll."

_I don't even know what to say to that. It's ludicrous._

"Are they in a graveyard?" _Of course they are. Where else would vampires hang out? Other than at clubs apparently. I really must show this to Caius. He will get quite irate. _Aro seemed to love the idea of angering his brother.

"She's quite sarcastic, isn't she?" _It's very crass._

"Yes, that's Buffy." Bella sounded almost proud of this fact. But of course she fucking was.

The vampires watched silently through a confrontation with several vampires. The episode ended with Buffy in a grave and a vampire about to bite her. "Is that all? What happens? Surely she lives." _Why do I even care? The show is juvenile. But I still must know._

Bella hopped up from my lap and danced over to the DVD storage unit, wherein she grabbed something and brought it over to Aro. "I got you all seven seasons on disk, so you can watch. I even got the version that should be compatible with whatever you use in Italy."

He took the disks, staring at her intently. "You got me a gift?"

Bella smiled. "Well, I hoped you might like it and want to see more. If you don't, I can take it back."

_Nobody ever gives me things, unless they want something from me. "_What is it you would like in return?"

Bella plopped back down on my lap with a laugh. "Nothing. Just for you to watch and hopefully to enjoy them. Edward puts up a good front, but he doesn't hate the show nearly as much as he did at first." That was a fucking lie, but I wasn't going to contradict her.

_What a strange little creature she is. In all my years, I've never encountered anything quite like her. _Damn right she was original and she was all mine. I tensed a little, afraid that he was going to try to take her back to Volterra with him.

Aro stood and Bella did as well. I stood right behind her as he held out both his hands to her. She took them in hers and he brought the left one to his lips. "You are a delightful woman, Dearest Isabella. I thank you for sharing your home and your program with us. It's been enlightening." _Strange, somewhat confusing, but also very interesting. I should like to see more of her._

"It was good to meet you," Bella replied. I remained tight lipped on that front, because I didn't fucking agree with that statement.

"And you, my dear. I hope that one day you'll let me return the favor and come to Volterra. I should be delighted to see your reaction to how our kind live. I promise, we put the vampire's quarters in your show to shame."

Bella laughed, thankfully. "I would like that."

Aro turned his gaze to me. "Edward, thank you for having us." _I shall let him have his secrets, for now._

I smiled at him. "You're welcome. Be sure to let us know what you think of the show."

Aro looked down at the disks that Demetri now held. "I will. I think it'll be illuminating to share it with my brothers."

Bella grinned and hugged him, which surprised the ancient vampire but he patted her back gently. "There, there, dear. We shall see you again soon." I hoped the fuck not. _She is very kind. I've never met another vampire like her. I will see to it that she visits._

Demetri got a hug and looked like he was about to pass out from the sheer pleasure of touching her. I glared at him but he released her and clapped me on the back. "It was good to see you again, Edward. You keep treating her right, or one of these days she'll leave you for me."

"Not fucking likely," I replied. He laughed and walked with Aro toward the front door.

Alec approached me then and I tensed. "Do come see us, Edward. I have much to show you." I got mental images of him showing me his bedroom and his fucking cock and I did my best not to react.

"We'll definitely drop in sometime," I replied, pulling Bella into my arms.

"Farewell, my friends. You are welcome in Volterra anytime." Aro held his Buffy disks to his chest like some kind of prized possession. It was funny as fuck. He didn't like the show but the fact that Bella had given him something without wanting anything back made him kind of like it. I had a feeling he'd grow to love the stupid show, if only for her. I knew that fucking feeling all too well.

"Bye, Aro!" Bella ushered them out and then turned to face me, a smile on her face.

"That went well," she told me.

"Shockingly well, except for the whole thing where you made me touch Spike's fucking balls."

She giggled and her eyes glowed with happiness. "That's what you get for using my cows in your lies."

"Well, you know what you get for lying?" I asked, starting to move slowly toward her. She backed away, giggling.

"Seventy two hours?" she asked.

"Starting now." She darted up the stairs and I followed quickly after her. I wasn't about to waste one fucking second of my three days of sex. Maybe those Volturi fucks should visit more often.

* * *

**A/N I long ago had an image of the Volturi getting exposed to Buffy, though I thought I'd set it in Volterra with just those vamps. I would have missed Smugs too much, though, so I had to do it his way. I hope you had a good time with it. Aro's totally watching all seven seasons. He's under Bella's spell.**

**More outtakes to come, though I'm not sure when yet. This story is nominated for two Twinkling Walk of Fame Awards, Scallywag and Empress Coven I believe. Would love your votes, or for you just to go vote for your favorites. Thanks for reading yet another crazy outtake. I'm having fun with them, clearly!  
**


	31. Chapter 31 School Daze

**A/N Yes, you read it right! A Taste outtake, finally. Earlier than planned (it's only been a year you know!) but Smugs was in my head one morning and you know the vamp demands that I listen to him when he comes out to play. Hope you enjoy! This is the last of the outtakes that I promised but you never know what will come out of my head. **

Taste of Innocence Chapter 31

"Bella, we have to go." I couldn't believe that I was the one who had to drag her away from the fucking computer. This was her fucking thing, not mine, but it was the lesser of two evils as far as I was concerned.

She glanced at the clock and smirked at me, which made me want to bite and then fuck her. "We'll make it in plenty of time the way you drive."

That wasn't the fucking point. The point was she'd rather spend her time with the fucking Volturi than me.

"I don't get it!" I heard a shout from the other end of the computer. "If Angel's her mate, how come she's sleeping with Spike?" Oh Christ, we'd never get out of here.

"Marcus, Angel's not there," Bella explained patiently. "He's taken off for what he thinks is Buffy's own good, to start a new life. She has to move on."

"You don't just move on from your mate," he told her stiffly.

Bella's smile turned down. "I know we don't, Marcus. But it's a TV show. And they don't really have mates." God he was a morose motherfucker. Bella told me his mate died and he never got over it. I got that, because if Bella was gone I'd lose my fucking mind. But to transfer that to a TV show was just ridiculous.

"I still fail to understand why these so-called vampires are falling in love with the person who is supposed to kill them and vice versa!" Oh, fucking joy, Caius was weighing in. Though he was right, of course.

"You can't help who you love, Caius, just like you can't control who your mate is." Bella was so fucking matter-of-fact about it. She killed me.

He sniffed and I watched as his pasty face filled the screen. How she could stand looking at those dried up old fuckers was beyond me. Maybe I should start moisturizing so I didn't look like that in a few thousand years. "It makes no sense, though. You don't fall in love with your mortal enemy! Spike was actually a decent vampire in the early seasons, though it never made sense that he didn't actually just kill her and be done with it."

"Brother, if he did that, we wouldn't have this delightful show to watch." Aro nudged Caius out of the way and grinned at Bella. "Or this delightful girl to watch it with. Bella, my dear, I must thank you for introducing us to this show."

"Thank her, my ass. We're going to bring that guy here and he's going to answer my questions!" Caius shouted.

Aro just shook his head. "I promised my Bella that we wouldn't kill Joss." _His_ Bella? She was _my_ Bella. I'd kill that motherfucker. I growled and Bella took my hand. "Well, hello, Edward!" Aro clapped his hands with joy. "How are you?"

"Edward?" Oh fuck me running, not him. Alec appeared next to Aro and his gaze fixed on me. He licked his fucking lips. Would that douche ever get over his crush on me? I mean, I get it, I was hard to get over and he'd never find anybody hotter, but he knew I wasn't going to join his team anytime soon. Or ever.

I was not in the mood to deal with this. Not with what else I had to deal with on top of it. "Sorry to interrupt," I told him in a voice that indicated I was anything but. "Bella and I have to get going if we're going to be on time."

Aro beamed at me while Alec pouted. "Yes! I hear that you're going to accompany our Bella out into the world of academia! I must admit, I don't understand her hunger to learn but I can hardly fault her for wanting to better herself. I'm glad you'll be there should anything unexpected happen."

Our Bella? Was he fucking serious? "Yes, I'm going to go to class with _my _wife." I wasn't letting her go alone to be hit on by every fucking male within the vicinity, even if she wouldn't look twice at them.

"Delightful!" he said with a smile. Alec was glaring at Bella. Caius was over in the corner of the room having a lively conversation with some female vampire over Spike versus Angel. These were the leaders of our world, really? Bella had turned them all into mindless TV junkies. Then again, she'd turned me into a lovesick asshole who couldn't say no to her for any damn thing, so why shouldn't she render our leaders helpless? My Bella could run the whole damn world if she wanted to, I had no fucking doubt about it.

"Bella, darling, we'll see you again tomorrow night?"

She smiled at him, which made my blood fucking boil. That was my smile, damn it. "Absolutely. I'm DVRing _The Vampire Diaries_ tonight and I'll watch it with you live, so to speak."

Crap. I actually kind of liked that one now. Stefan had turned into a real vampire. I was sure it wouldn't last for long but I was kind of enjoying it at the moment. "Bella, I thought we'd watch it tonight when we got home." Holy shit, was I whining? It sounded like I fucking was. Another ball check was clearly in order if I was upset about not watching that insipid show.

"We can all watch it together," she cooed at me.

"Excellent! I'm sure we'll have a lovely time!" Aro beamed at us. Alec was smiling, probably because he'd get to look at me for a whole hour tomorrow night. Fucking pervert.

"Yo, E! Hey, Bella." Demetri drew out her name with a grin and I rolled my eyes as Bella giggled.

"Stop perving on my wife, asshole."

"No can do. She's too beautiful to get over. Have a good day at school, sweetheart." Demetri shot me a cheeky wave. Fucker.

Bella shook her head. "We will. Same time tomorrow?"

"Yes. Have a lovely time in class, sweet girl." Aro smiled. "I can't wait to hear all about it."

"I can't wait to tell you!" She really was excited which of course made her even more fucking beautiful.

"Goodbye, my dear. See you tomorrow. Edward, you take good care of her or you'll have me to answer to." The edge in Aro's voice was unmistakable.

"I always take really good care of her, Aro." Yeah, I might have let the sexual innuendo seep into my fucking words but those assholes needed to know that she was mine and mine alone.

Demetri laughed while Alec pouted and Aro just smirked. "See to it that it stays that way. Goodnight, dear Bella. Edward." He turned to Caius as Bella started to log out. I swore I heard him say something like, "Maybe we could bring Joss in for a dialogue," before the computer shut off.

Bella stood and smiled at me. "Ready to go?"

Was she fucking kidding? "I've been ready for the past hour. You were the one hanging out with ugly old men, not me."

She laughed as she wrapped her arms around me. Even though I was fucking annoyed, I put my arms around her waist. I could never resist her and she knew it. "You can't possibly be jealous of Aro, Edward. You know that I love you."

I grinned and steered her back toward the bed. "Why don't you show me then?"

She laughed and ducked out of my arms. "Because we have a class to get to."

I scowled. "Sure, blow me off for class but not the gruesome threesome."

She kissed my cheek. "I'll blow you after class if you stop acting like a baby and get a move on."

Well then. "Let's fucking go."

She laughed as I grabbed her hand and hurried us downstairs. "You're so easy," she told me, giggling as we got in the car.

I punched it into dive and we took off. We did have enough time to get NYU, barely. "Baby, I'll endure almost anything for a blow job from you."

She hummed contentedly. "I know." Of course she knew her power over me. She was a fucking siren and I was a helpless sailor drawn to her song. Or her fucking hot body. Whatever. I was her bitch and she reveled in it. Maybe I should take some cold comfort in the fact that the rest of the Volturi, minus Alec, were just as whipped as I was. At least I fucking got laid out of the deal. They got to watch shitty TV shows. I was getting the way better end of the bargain, no doubt about it.

We made to it to campus in record time and I parked in front of the Lit building where we'd be taking our classes. I still couldn't believe I was a fucking student for the first time in decades, but there was no fucking way I was letting Bella go to class by herself. I was here to mark my territory, even if I had to endure homework and papers and shit. I'd make Jenks take care of that crap. I wasn't actually going to be doing any work.

"Ready, baby?"

Bella bit her lip but nodded. I hurried around to pull her from the car and twined my hand with hers. She was wearing tight black jeans, black boots and one of her red sweaters. She looked fucking amazing. It took all of ten seconds before the first thought assaulted me. _Look at that fine ass, what I wouldn't give to bend her over a desk and fuck the shit out of her._

I whirled around and glared at the child who was checking out my wife. He looked taken aback but of course had no idea why I was looking at him as if I wanted to tear his head off, which I did.

"Edward, we've been through this." Bella tugged on my hand and I reluctantly turned away from my future prey to face her. "You can't kill people just for having a thought you don't like, unless it's a murderous one."

"My thoughts are fucking murderous, doesn't that count?"

She laughed and shook her head. "No. Now let's get to class."

Fine. I held her hand all the way into the classroom and didn't let go even when she tried to tug it free as we found two desks together. She shook her head at me and finally I released her so she could take out a pen and a notebook from her bag. I'd wanted to bring a computer but she said it was annoying and rude. Whatever. Like I was going to pay attention anyway. She handed me my own notebook and pen and I smirked at her.

"Appearances, Edward."

Right. I was good at those when I wanted to be. I flipped open my notebook and tried to look like a dutiful student. Bella giggled which made me grin. I loved the sound of her laughter.

Every eye in the fucking room was on us, no big surprise. Bella, of course, was the most beautiful girl in the room. Thankfully there were only a handful of guys in this class. The majority were women and they were looking at me as if I was the only man they'd ever seen. I chuckled as their thoughts hit me.

_Oh my God, he is so gorgeous. _

_Do we have any group assignments? Because I know who I want to partner up with._

_He's with her, obviously. But I bet he plays around and I'll happily be one of his toys. _That one made me scowl. I was not a fucking cheater and that whore couldn't hold a candle to my Bella. There were several girls picturing us naked together and even a couple picturing Bella naked with us. That was at least moderately more tolerable, even though Bella was far more glorious than their limited minds could begin to fathom. Nor would I be able to see any other female if she was naked in the room with me. Fuck, I needed her to be naked with me soon.

I shrugged out of my leather jacket and heard a few sighs as I revealed my tight black t-shirt. Bella's eyes flew off her notebook and she glanced around the room, her butterscotch eyes narrowed as she took in my many admirers. "Remember, baby, you can't kill people for their thoughts." That got me a glare of my own and I grinned unrepentantly. I couldn't help it; she was hot as fuck when she was jealous. We should have done this school bullshit earlier. I had fantasies of her pushing me into an empty classroom and claiming me as her own. So fucking hot.

"I remember," she muttered, shooting a glare at a girl who was openly staring at me. Then she turned back to me and smiled, "Give me your hand."

What? I held my right hand out to her and she shook her head. "The left."

Ohhhh. Fucking awesome. I reached my left hand across my body to her and she raised it to her lips, kissing and licking my palm and showing my ring to every female in the room. I guess that was her way of marking her territory and it was pretty fucking sexy. Of course I was hard as a rock and we had a damn three hour class to get through which fucking sucked.

Bella's nostrils flared and she looked positively murderous. "What, love?"

"Can't you smell that?" she hissed.

I sniffed and, oh! It seemed her little show hadn't done any good and several women were actually aroused by the display. Bella growled and I squeezed her hand. "Calm down, baby. You know I'd rather kill them than fuck them."

She continued to growl softly. "I'd almost be okay with that."

I laughed and gave her a quick kiss. Several sighs and angry thoughts hit me but I didn't care. "No, you wouldn't, baby. I'm yours. You know that."

"I know. It just sucks."

I smirked at her. "How do you think I feel knowing the entire Volturi want you?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "They don't want me. We're friends."

"Aro called you his," I reminded her, feeling my temper start to spike again.

"He thinks of me as his daughter, Edward." She lowered her voice. "And even though I have a father, I know I won't forever. It's kind of nice to have him care about and look after me. He doesn't want me though." She shuddered. "Gross."

"Demetri does." Bastard.

"And he knows that I'm your wife and your mate and that nothing can ever come of his crush. Alec wants you but you don't hear me bitching."

I huffed. "That's because you think it's funny."

She giggled lightly. "I do. But if he ever tried to do anything about it I'd destroy him." So fucking hot. She killed me.

"Bella, you're turning me on," I muttered. "Can we please get the fuck out of here and…"

"Hello, class. Please take your seats if you haven't already. I'm Professor Davidson and I'll…" his voice broke off as he caught sight of my wife. _As I live and breathe, Juliet herself is in this class. Lips as red as the most priceless ruby, alabaster skin that belongs in a museum, chestnut hair that looks as soft as silk. And those eyes! I will write her sonnets. I'll write her poems and songs and novels. Who is this stunning creature? I must have her. She will be my muse._

Muse? What the ever living fuck? The douche was standing in the front of the classroom completely mesmerized by my Bella. Students were looking back and forth between the two of them. Bella looked mortified. She put her head down and tried to hide beneath her hair. I was ready to kill everyone in the room for staring at her and making her uncomfortable.

"Ahem," I cleared my throat and glared at the fucking professor. He was fucking ancient, at least forty, and he had a gut and was balding. Bella wouldn't look twice at him even if she didn't have me, which of course she did. "Is this class actually going to start or should we go home?" I demanded.

He shook his head, coming out of his daze although he didn't take his gaze away from my girl. That was it. He had to fucking die. "Um, yes, I'm Professor Davidson and we're here to study the romantic classics. I'd like to take attendance before we get into it." _I must know her name._

He put his briefcase down on the desk and took out a paper. "I'll just call names by alphabetical order. Stephanie Adams?" He went down the list and it wasn't long before he got to me. "Edward Cullen?"

"That would be me," I replied, my voice still hard. _Edward? That's such an old fashioned name but there's nothing old about him. What a hot body. _Insipid fucking children. They were annoying me.

"Isabella Cullen."

Bella looked up and raised her hand part way. "That's me. Bella, please."

_Of course. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Bella. Isabella. I must have her. Is she with him? They have the same last name but surely she's too young to be married. His sister, perhaps. He's watching over her like a protective older brother. Maybe I could ask her to stay after class to discuss something. What? I don't know. I'll figure it out._

"He's a dead man," I spoke too softly for anyone but Bella to hear me.

"Edward, you can't kill him. He's our professor."

Like I gave a fuck. "He's pondering ways to get you alone. He wants you to be his muse. He thinks I'm your fucking brother."

"Baby, it's not like he could do anything to me if he tried. I'm not exactly a weak human girl, am I?"

So? "I will not listen to him all semester long, Bella. I'll go mad if I do. Please, let me kill him. They'll get us a new teacher."

She snorted. "Yeah, probably a woman that will want you instead. How is that any better?"

I shrugged. "It just is."

"Double standard much, Edward?"

"You can't hear their thoughts. There's a difference," I argued quietly. Professor Pervert was though with his roll call and was yammering about Romeo and Juliet, which hadn't been part of his lesson plan but he was throwing in because he thought my Bella was his Juliet. Well, if he was Romeo and Romeo died…"He's just asking for it! He wants to be your Romeo. Instead of a sword, he can die by my hands."

Bella giggled. "You're cute when you're jealous."

"I'm fucking hot at all times, you know this."

"Miss Cullen? Isabella. Would you be so kind to read Juliet's part while I read Romeo's?" Oh, fuck no. He was trying to caress her name with his voice and he fucking sucked at it.

She glanced at me. "That would be Mrs. Cullen or Bella."

I smirked as his face fell. That that, fucker. "And I'm already her Romeo, so how about I read his part?" I didn't wait for a response, I was off. "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?" I did the whole fucking thing from memory while the Professor gaped at me and the girls in the room started wiggling in their seats, my Bella included. I hid my laughter as thoughts of how romantic I was filled the room.

"That was incredible recall, Mr. Cullen. But I was talking about the first scene where Romeo and Juliet interact, Scene Five. Isabella, perhaps you could…"

Fuck that. "If I profane my unworthiest hand…" No way was that asshole having any kind of romantic moment with my girl.

Bella gasped and I smelled her arousal now, so much sweeter and sexier than the ridiculous human girls in the room. "Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much…"

While she talked, I put my hand on her leg. "You like this hand, don't you baby. It's not unworthy to touch you, to make you scream, is it?" She kept reciting but her legs opened even more under her desk. Take that fucker. My girl is practically in heat right fucking now. I recited my response. Everybody in the room was staring at us as we parried back and forth verbally. I grinned at Bella as the scene ended and she smiled back brilliantly.

_So beautiful. Why must she be out of my reach? Her voice is like an angel. I will have her. This is my vow._

Yeah fucknugget? Well my vow is to kill you slowly, making sure you feel every little bit of pain I can inflict before I give you the sweet release of death. Is that fucking poetic enough for you?

"Edward," Bella moaned softly.

"What, baby?"

"I…when did you memorize that?"

Ha, she was so fucking turned on she could barely function. Who knew that pansy book shit would render my spitfire speechless? "I did some reading up when we decided to take the class."

"I want you," she told me. I tightened my hold on her leg.

"Don't say shit like that, baby. I'll pull you right out of this classroom."

She bit her lip and I was just about to do it when the dead man interrupted. "That was lovely, you two. I, uh, need a minute so you can take your fifteen minute break now and we'll take another in an hour or so." _I need to think. I can't if I'm looking at her. She's too lovely._

I was out of my seat instantly, Bella's hand in mine. We hurried out of the classroom and I yanked her into the first empty room that I could find, which happened to be an office of some sort. I flipped the lock and she pushed me back against the door, her lips on mine. "You've never been sexier to me," she muttered. I could take that personally but hey, I wasn't about to get too worked up when her fingers were unbuttoning my jeans and pushing them down. "Naked, now," she demanded.

I led her over to the desk and kicked my jeans off. I didn't bother with boxers because I had no need. She kicked off her boots as I undid her jeans and had them off while she tossed her sweater across the room. Her bra was open and off a second later and she was bare in front of me. I gripped her hips and pulled her closer to the edge of the desk, and then I entered her in one hard thrust. She moaned loud and arched her hips toward me.

"I'm going to kill him," I told her as I slammed into her over and over. "You're mine. He's not allowed to think about you. He's not allowed to look at you." She panted and nodded as I fucked her hard.

"Kill him. I don't care," she told me. Fuck. So fucking perfect. She was everything I never knew I wanted. I would not exist without her. I flipped her over and took her from behind. She yelped and held onto the desk as I pounded into her.

"Edward!" she called my name as she came around me. I kept right on fucking her, making her come twice more before I let myself go. She collapsed against me when I turned her back over and held her against my chest. "God, I needed that. All those fucking girls…"

"They're nothing. You're all I see," I told her.

She laughed and kissed me sweetly. "I know." She slid off the desk and started pulling on her clothes. "I guess we better get to class." I growled and she giggled. "You can't kill him until it's over."

That was true, but…what? I stopped in the middle of pulling on my jeans and stared at her. "I can kill him?"

She pulled her sweater over her head and nodded. "Yes, I said you could."

"Yeah but you said that while I was fucking you. I figured you didn't really mean it."

"Well, I did. You're my husband and he's disrespecting you. If he just thought I was pretty, or whatever, that would be one thing. But he's scheming to get me alone? I don't think so."

I pulled on my jeans and shoes. "I really fucking love you. I can't even quantify how much."

Bella straightened her hair and pulled on her boots. "I love you, too. Just follow my lead when we get back in there."

I walked the hallways with her hand in mine, grinning like I'd just gotten laid. That's right, I had. Take that, fuckers.

We entered the classroom and the Professor started class up again. I tensed every time he thought about Bella, which was a lot, but knowing that I was going to get to kill him very soon made me feel a lot better about it. That and Bella's left pinky was linked with my right, just a little symbol from her showing our connection. It was stronger than anything I'd ever known. Nothing could tear us apart.

As class finally, mercifully ended, Dead Professor cleared his throat. "Mrs. Cullen, if I could have a word?"

Bella winked at me and stood. "Go outside and wait by the car, baby."

I hated doing it but it wasn't like I couldn't get back to her in ten seconds if need be. I walked down the hallway, ignoring the fucking pissants that were trying to flirt with me as I listened to my wife.

"Isabella, I'd like to discuss a project I thought you might be interested in."

"Really? What would that be?" She sounded flirtatious. I balled my hands into fists. It was just an act, I knew that, but my venom was pumping anyway.

"I'm hoping to do a study on how Shakespeare's works can be applied to today and with the talent you showed in class, I'm sure you'd be a great aide."

Aide? I'd aid that motherfucker.

"What about my husband? He knows even more than I do."

_Stop talking about him! He's in the way! He doesn't exist, damn it._

Oh really? We'd see who didn't exist very soon.

"He may know the words, but you're the one who knows the heart of them. You feel them, I can tell." _I want you to feel something._

Let me fucking kill him now, baby. I need to. It was taking everything I had not to turn around and go in and drain him where he stood.

"I do feel them," she agreed. I could practically see her twirling a piece of hair around her finger. She had that tone going on.

"Well, would like to work with me then? I warn you, it would be some very long hours and require quite a bit of attention." He emphasized the very long and I laughed at that one. Like he could ever compete with Edward Junior.

"Do you believe this?" Bella murmured softly. She knew I'd hear her and he wouldn't.

"Hurry up, baby. I need to kill him."

"I'd love to work with you. Let me just go tell Edward that I won't be home for awhile, okay?"

"Okay!" He was so excited. Dumbfuck thought his dreams were coming true.

"Did you want to do it here or…"

"How about we meet over by the Davis Building? My office is there."

"Great. I'll see you in about ten minutes!" she told him, sounding thrilled.

"See you then, Isabella."

I waited by the car while Bella skipped out of the building. She stopped in front of me and wrapped her arms around my neck, kissing me softly. "You heard him, baby. Davis Building. Don't get caught."

I kissed her again, overjoyed. "Like I ever do. You sure you don't want to come with?"

She laughed. "I'm sure. You enjoy your moment. I think I'll call Aro and tell him about our first and last day of school. He'll be so proud."

Hope shot through me. "Our last day, baby?"

Bella nodded. "Yes. I don't think either of us could endure another class. I'll look into online courses instead."

I chuckled. "That might cut into your Volturi time."

"I don't care. I'm not sitting in a roomful of women smelling how much they want you. And you're not going to listen to their thoughts of you or some pervert's thoughts of me. We're better off alone."

"Damn right we are." I kissed her again. "I fucking love you."

"I fucking love you, too. Now go kill our Professor so we can go home."

I laughed. "Nobody has first days of school like we do, baby."

"And you love it. Hurry back to me."

"Always." Our school day had turned out to be much better than anticipated, fucking asshole professors and pathetic co-eds aside.

"Life is never boring with you, Edward."

"Never will be," I promised her.

"I know. Go eat."

"I'll be sure to quote him a sonnet as he dies. It's the least I can do." Bella's laughter followed me as I darted to the Davis Building. Learning was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. I'd have to study some more sexy things to quote to her if it got her so worked up and accepting over the death of idiots.

"Isabella? Where are you?" Professor Pathetic was pacing in front of his building.

I reached out and yanked him into the darkness. "She's not coming. Well, she was, and she will be again soon when I take her home to fuck her, but she's not coming for you, ever."

"I…uh, she said…" he sputtered.

"You disrespected our relationship. That is never allowed. Bella belongs to me just as I belong to her. I was going to crush every one of your fucking bones but honestly? You're not worth my time. Not when my wife is waiting for me." His muddy eyes were wide with fright but he didn't attempt to fight me. He knew.

"Since you like Shakespeare so much, I'll leave you with this. 'Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once.' I've died once, but I came back. Do you think you will?" I snapped his neck before he could answer.

"Now, to drain or not to drain, that is the question?" I snickered at my Shakespearean humor. If I drained him, I'd have to take the time to hide the body. I'd rather spend that time fucking Bella. So I took him inside and carried him up a flight of stairs before throwing him back down. His body made a loud cracking sound as he hit the bottom floor. It'd look like he tripped and died. How sad.

I hopped over his prone form and zipped back to the car where Bella was waiting for me. She studied my face. "You didn't eat him."

I grinned and kissed her hard. "I'd rather go home and eat you. Plus you owe me that blow job."

She threw back her head and laughed. "I suppose that's only fair. To quote our professor quoting Shakespeare, 'People usually are happiest at home.' I know I am. Take me to our home."

She was my home and damn right, she made me the happiest I'd ever been. "As you wish, my lady." Another Shakespeare quote came to mind. 'Love is a wonderful, terrible thing.' Fitting and very us. I wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
